UC-NRLF 


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The  National  Social  Science  Series 

Edited  by  Frank  L.  McVey,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

President  of  the 

University  of  North  Dakota 

Now  Ready 

MONEY.  William  A.  Scott,  Director  of  the  Course  in 
Commerce,  and  Professor  of  Political  Economy,  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin 

TAXATION.  C.  B.  Fillebrown,  President  Massachu- 
chusetts  Single  Tax  League,  Author  oi  A  B  C  of 
Taxation 

THE  FAMILY  AND  SOCIETY.  John  M.  Gillette, 
Professor  of  Sociology,  University  of  North  Dakota 

To  Be  Issued  in  1914 

THE  STATE  AND  GOVERNMENT.   John  S.  Young 

THE  CITY.    Henry  C  Wright 

POLITICAL  ECONOMY.    Frank  L.  McVey 

BANKS  AND  BANKING.    William  A.  Scott 

COMPETITION,  FAIR  AND  UNFAIR.  John 
Franklin  Crowell 

Each  Fifty  Cents  Net 
A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS,  CHICAGO 


THE 

Family  and  Society 


BY 

John  M.  Gillette,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Sociology  in  the  University  of  North 

Dakota;  Author  of  "Vocational  Education" 

and  "Constructive  Rural  Socioloey" 


CHICAGO 

A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 

1914 


Cop5rright 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 

1914 


Published  January,  1914 


Copyrighted  in  Great  Britain 


.  F.  HALL  PRINTING  COMPANY,  CHICAGO 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE       , 

THE  original  arrangement  of  Dr.  Gillette's 
book  called  for  the  placing  of  the  third 
chapter  as  the  first  and  then  proceeding  from 
the  Biological  Phases  of  Sex  and  Family  to  the 
Origin  of  Marriage,  the  Evolution  of  the  Family, 
the  Functions  of  the  Family,  and  closing  with 
Some  Current  Conditions  Affecting  the  Family. 
The  present  arrangement  of  the  table  of  con- 
tents brings  first  to  the  reader's  attention  the 
function  which  the  family  performs  in  a  present 
day  society,  while  the  chapter  on  the  Biological 
Phases  of  Sex  and  the  Family  is  left  for  the 
last  of  the  book.  This  chapter  deals  rather 
minutely  with  the  origin  of  sex  and  its  place  in 
social  relations;  the  justification  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  chapter  in  a  book  of  this  kind  is  to 
be  found,  if  for  no  other  reason,  in  the  great 
interest  in  eugenics.  Dr.  Gillette  has  summa- 
rized in  an  interesting  way  the  discussion  on 
sex  origin  and  in  doing  so  has  performed  a 
service  that  will  be  appreciated  by  those  follow- 
ing the  trend  of  eugenic  discussion. 

F.  L.  M. 

281466 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

THE  large  attention  given  the  family  in 
recent  years  has  been  deserved  because  of 
the  antiquity  of  that  institution,  its  comparatively 
original  and  self-sufficing  character,  and  its  abil- 
ity to  mirror  and  prepare  for  the  larger  collective 
life.  No  doubt  the  large  place  the  social  sciences 
occupy  in  today's  affairs,  the  ethnological  and 
sociological  treatments  of  marriage  and  the  fam- 
ily, and  the  transformation  which  changing  social 
conditions  have  made  in  this  domestic  institution 
largely  account  for  the  increased  attention. 

The  present  book  does  not  seek  to  be  original 
in  its  treatment  of  the  family.  It  does  seek  to 
be  authoritative,  in  the  sense  that  the  author  has 
consistently  gone  back  to  best  authorities  and 
original  documents  for  his  facts.  The  work, 
therefore,  is  not  theoretical  but  factual.  To  the 
measure  of  the  writer's  ability,  it  represents  a 
scientific  interpretation  of  a  large  body  of  data. 
It  IS  hoped  that  such  a  compendium  and  inter- 
pretation may  find  a  useful  place  in  the  lives  of 
busy  men  and  women,  and  even  prove  to  be  an 
intelligent  guide  to  students  of  the  family  in  a 
larger  study. 

John  M.  Gillette. 

University  of  North  Dakota, 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter  1/   Functions   of  the   Family    ....  i 

I.     Physical  Reproduction  of  Society  ...  2 

11.     Sociological   Reproduction       7 

III.  Relation  of  Family  to  Society    .     .     .     .  16 

IV.  The  Family  in  Relation  to  Parents     .     .  25 
V.     Summary 29 

Chapter  II.    Origin  of  Marriage 32 

I.     Marriage  Among  Animals 34 

II.     The  Earliest  Human  Sex  Relation      .     .  40 

HI.    The  Belief  in  Promiscuity 51 

Chapter  III.    The  Evolution  of  the  Family    .     .  54 

I.     Types  of  Families 55 

II.     Occurrence  of  the  Forms  of  the  Family    .  56 

III.  Kinship  Systems 62 

IV.  Reasons  for  Various  Forms  of  the  Family  66 
V.    Development  of  the  Monogamous  Family  78 

Chapter  IV.    Current   Conditions   Affecting   the 

Family 84 

I.    Conditions  Affecting  Marriage    ....  85 


Contents 


PAGE 

II.     Conditions  Affecting  the  Size  of  Families    89 

III.  Divorce 95 

IV.  The  Social  Evil 114 

Chapter  V.     Biological   Phases   of   Sex   and   the 

Family 122 

I.  The  Appearance  of  Sex 124 

11.  The  Function  of  Sex 132 

III.  Nature  of  Sex  Differences 136 

IV.  Sex  Determination 143 

V.  Summary 152 

References 15% 


The    Family   and   Society 


The  Family  and  Society 

CHAPTER  I 

Functions  of  the  Family 

EVERY  human  institution,  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  social  institution,  must  be 
held  responsible  for  the  exercise  of  certain  socio- 
logical functions.  It  is  often  supposed  that 
institutions  exist  for  themselves.  It  is  not  rec- 
ognized that  every  such  organization  should  be 
regarded  as  an  agency  through  which  men  and 
society  work  to  secure  collective  results,  and  that, 
therefore,  its  justification  and  test  of  efficiency 
reside  in  its  community  usefulness.  In  meas- 
uring the  functions  of  the  family  it  must  submit 
to  this  test.  It  is  consequently  necessary  to  dis- 
cover the  sociological  functions  of  the  family  in 
order  to  estimate  its  utility  and  how  far  it  is 
a  necessary  institution.  What  is  the  family's 
relation  to  the  larger  social  world?  What  serv- 
ices does  it  perform  for  society  that  society 
imperatively  needs  ?  "-~_ 

But  while  institutions  exist  for  serving  the 
larger  community  needs  they  also  are  the  means 
1 


', : :  T.he:  Fnmily  and  Society 


/of  giving  satisfaction  to  individuals  considered 

as  human  beings.     Human  beings,  just  because 

they  are  human  beings,  have  a  right  to  manj 

satisfactions   in   hfe  which   conceivably   do  not 

immediately  touch  general  social  interests.     In 

so  far  as  those  satisfactions  do  not  interfere  with 

a      collective  interests,  their  attainment  is  legitimate. 

It  may  be  found  possible  to  regard  the  family 

as  an  institution  that  realizes  the  maximum  of 

personal  satisfaction  to  its  members,  without  at 

the  same  time  injuring  the  interests  of  the  larger 

\         community.      Such  a  consideration  should  find 

\      a  place  in  treating  the  functions  of  the  family. 

1.  Physical  Reproduction  of  Society 

The  first  general  function  of  the  family  is  the 
physical  reproduction  of  society.  First,  in  order 
that  society  should  continue  it  is  necessary  that: 
its  constituent  members  should  be  replaced  as 
they  are  eliminated.  While  society  is  a  psychical 
fact  it  is  nevertheless  constituted  of  the  inter- 
relations of  minds  which  are  connected  with 
— ^physical  bodies.  In  a  real  sense  it  is  true  that 
society  exists  for  the  welfare  of  its  constituent 
members.  Viewed  biologically  the  individual  mind 
is  a  function  of  the  body  in  the  sense  that  it  is 
an  instrument  for  the  better  adjustment  of  the 


Functions  of  the  Family 


organism  to  its  more  complex  environment.    Sim- 
ple organisms  have  little  need  of  mind  because 
the  environment  is  immediate  and  simple.     But  "--^ 
with  growing  complexity  of  surrounding  con-^ 
ditions  there  is  a  concomitant  demand  for  an 
agent  that  can  sense  things  remote  in  time  and 
space.     While  this  is  not  the  whole  function  of 
mind  it  is  a  very  necessary  duty.    In  like  manner 
society  and  the  social  mind  may  be  viewed  as  the 
aecessary  means  by  which  the  organisms  of  its 
constituent  members  are  adjusted  to  a  tremen- 
dously  complicated  situation.     And   while   this 
does  not  tell  the  whole  story  of  society  it  is  an 
important   item.      In   any   event  the   bodies   of   ') 
human  beings  are  essential  to  society,  and  it  is  L, 
necessary   to   replace  them  if   society   is  to  b^ 
perpetuated. 

A  constant  and  effective  agency  is  required 
to  perform  this  imperative  function.  During 
the  evolution  of  sentient  beings  a  great  many 
devices  have  been  tried  to  secure  this  end ;  repro- 
duction by  segmentation,  by  budding,  and  other 
methods  among  lowest  forms  of  life;  promis- 
cuity among  many  animals ;  and  the  family  in 
its  several  forms  among  human  beings.  And  as 
we  are  to  see,  the  monogamic  family  appears  to 
have  been  worked  out  as  the  most  serviceable 
lethod  to  secure  the  various  results  which  the 


The  Family  and  Society 


family  is  required  to  bring  about.  Doubtless 
many  individuals  are  produced  by  the  method 
of  promiscuity,  but  promiscuity  must  be  viewed 
as  an  inadequate  and  irresponsible  agency  since 
it  fails  to  create  the  type  of  men  and  women 
society  demands.  The  parental  factor  and  the 
home  influences  are  essential  elements  even  for 
1^  the  production  of  a  physically  valid  stock.  Even 
could  society  find  a  sufficient  substitute  for  the 
home,  promiscuity  entails  venereal  diseases,  close 
in-breeding,  and  other  evils  which  produce  a 
degenerate  physical  type  of  being. 
f    Second,  the  family  touches  national  life  on 

^'  its  physical  side.  For  one  thing,  it  serves  as  a 
means  of  holding  people  in  permanent  relations 
with  the  land.     The  settled  character  of  life  has 

•  developed  with  the  increment  and  definition  of 
family  functions.    The  adoption  of  a  permanent 

\    mode  of  shelter  and  defense  has  tended  to  bind 

'  populations  to  a  locality.  The  establishment  of 
property  as  an  institution  and  its  perpetuation 
through  the  family  have  proved  to  be  profound 
forces  for  securing  the  settlement  and  stability 
of  aggregates  of  individuals.  Were  proof  de- 
sired for  this  statement  it  would  be  sufficient  to 
refer  to  the  unsettled  state  of  primitive  peoples, 
and  to  the  migrations  of  the  barbarians  of  the 

\North  which  eventuated  in  the  overrunning  of 


Functions  of  the  Family 


Rome.  Since  an  essential  idea  in  the  constitution 
of  the  state  is  a  settled  people  within  a  defined 
territory,  and  since  the  family  is  the  most  uni- 
versal and  conspicuous  method  of  holding  a 
population  to  given  areas  and  standards  of  liv- 
ing, the  value  of  the  latter  in  a  national  sense 
is  evident. 

For  another  thing,  the  family  insures,  withX 
hardly  any  exception,  a  growing  population.  An  N 
increasing  population  has  always  been  regarded 
as  a  national  asset.  Whether  this  will  always  be 
true  is  rather  immaterial,  as  also  would  be  the 
abstract  discussion  over  whether  or  not  it  should 
be  so. 

Proceeding  on  the  basis  of  facts,  a  large  popuX 
lation  is  and  has  been  a  direct  benefit  to  nations  ^ 
possessing    it.      Under    similar    conditions    the 
nation  that  possesses  the  largest  population  is 
the  strongest  in  a  physical  contest.     Although    ^ 
there  may  be  limits  beyond  which  an  ihcreased 
population  would  render  no  further  advantage 
in  that  direction,  a  large  population  gives  the 
basis  for  an  extensive  division  of  labor  and  spe- 
cialization and  therefore  makes  possible  a  supe- 
rior internal  organization.    While  it  is  probably 
unfortunate,  yet  it  is  an  undoubted  fact,  that 
population    and   wealth   are    signs    of   national 
reputability  in  much  the  same  way  that  worldly/ 


6  The  Family  and  Society 

possessions  enhance  the  importance  of  the  indi- 
vidual in  the  community.  With  a  given  standard 
the  nation  with  the  largest  population  is  most 
weighty  in  international  matters,  and  looking 
into  the  future,  as  the  world  regards  things  now, 
the  nation's  future  is  probably  the  most  secure  a 
hundred  years  hence  which  promises  the  most 
numerous  citizenship.  Since  promiscuity  under 
present  conditions  would  entail  a  high  death  rate 
among  children,  and  debilitate  the  stock,  that 
form  of  reproduction  would  offer  little  security 
for  a  nation's  future.  And  since  the  monogamic 
family  makes  every  man  and  woman  available 
for  reproductive  purposes,  prevents  close  in- 
breeding, reduces  venereal  diseases,  both  of  which 
latter  evils  impair  the  physical  type,  and  is  con- 
ducive to  saving  infant  life,  it  would  appear  to 
be  the  best  means  of  securing  a  growing  popu- 
lation. 

Third,  the  family  on  its  physical  side  has 
/eugenic  implications.  Because  it  is  the  medium 
of  replacing  decedent  members  of  society  it  bears 
\  the  responsibility  of  affecting  the  inherent  physi- 
I  cal  character  of  the  stock.  Persons  who  marry, 
because  of  their  selective  power  relative  to  mates, 
determine  whether  the  race  shall  become  physi- 
cally strong  or  weak.  And  since  health  and 
strength,  that  is,  bodily  validity,  are  the  f ounda- 


Functions  of  the  Family 


tion  of  individual  and  social  mind,  of  social  en- 
ergy, and  of  the  general  welfare,  it  is  of  para- 
mount importance  that  this  function  be  well  exer- 
cised. Society's  interest  in  the  matter  is  so 
fundamental  that  it  should  not  do  less  than  adopt 
all  effective  means  for  securing  sound  parents 
and  preventing  perilous  marriages. 

2,  Sociological  Reproduction 

There  are  good  reasons  to  believe  that  origi- 
nally society  was  created  by  the  family.  Because 
the  family  was  the  first  permanent  social  group 
and  institution,  and  because  of  its  reproductive 
functions,  it  not  only   preceded  but   produced 
other  social  institutions.     At  a  later  date,  as  in 
fact  in  every  age,  the  form  and  quality  of  the 
family  is  a  product  of  general  conditions,  but 
this  does  not  invalidate  the  previous  statement.  \       / 
While  society  now  creates  the  family,  the  latter  yy   \J 
was  primarily  the  creator  of  society.     That  it  / 
has  always  been  capable  of  producing  society 
will  appear  from  the  following  considerations. 

In  a  real  sense  the  domestic  institution  is  the 
archetype  of  society  at  large.  As  Leibnitz  be- 
held the  reflection  of  the  universe  in  each  of  his 
monads,  so  likewise  the  family  group  is  the 
society  microcosm.    While  it  is  true  that  the  rela- 


8  The  Family  and  Society 

tions  of  members  of  this  group  to  each  other  are 
pecuHar  to  this  group  only  in  that  parenthood, 
childhood,  fraternity,  husband  and  wife  bear 
their  own  special  meanings,  nevertheless  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  structures  and  functions  of  society 
at  large  are  to  be  found  in  the  family.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  this  is  true  just  because  the 
larger  society  expanded  from  the  family,  but 
rather  because  in  the  nature  of  things  all  social 
groups  have  to  be  founded  on  essentially  the  same 
principles.  This  is  particularly  true  relative  to 
division  of  labor  between  members.  The  princi- 
ple of  the  division  of  labor  with  its  consequent 
interdependence  of  active  members  is  identical  in 
the  family  and  in  all  other  social  institutions. 
Again,  it  is  significant  that  all  members  of  the 
family  group  issue  into  the  social  life  at  large, 
carrying  with  them  the  impress  of  the  family; 
and  that  all  persons  who  establish  families  come 
in  from  the  larger  world  bringing  the  more 
generalized  impress  of  society  to  bear  on  the 
developing  of  offspring.  Thus  there  is  a  con- 
stant give  and  take,  a  passing  back  and  forth 
between  the  general  and  special  group.  It  is 
-^  obviously  necessary  that  the  groups  should  be 
similar,  otherwise  the  inter-migration  would 
prove  disastrous.  The  parents  bring  in  a  larger 
culture  from  the  world  outside  which  the  off- 


Functions  of  the  Family 


spring  imitate  and  assimilate.  Sometimes  excep- 
tionally talented  parents  create  a  culture  higher 
than  the  general  standard  of  the  community, 
which  the  children  of  the  particular  home  absorb. 
In  either  case  children  find  in  the  home  their 
initial  equipment  for  contact  with  the  world. 
Moreover,  at  all  times  there  is  a  give  and  take 
between  the  family  and  the  world.  Consequently 
it  is  inevitable  that  each  shall  be  influenced  by 
the  other  and  it  likewise  follows  that  the  less 
shall  be  forced  to  make  the  larger  response. 

That  there  may  be  no  doubt  that  the  family, 
is  the  incubator  of  social  members,  it  is  expe-\ 
dient  to  pass  in  review  its  early  institutional 
features.  First,  it  possesses  a  division  of  labor 
which  is  necessary  to  its  existence  and  which 
trains  the  young  for  that  of  the  larger  commu- 
nity. Between  man  and  wife  this  obtains  prin- 
cipally. The  husband  is  the  bread  winner,  the 
wife  the  home  maker.  As  the  offspring  develop, 
they  are  introduced  to  certain  duties  in  the 
household  economy.  The  boys  build  fires,  get 
fuel,  bring  water,  and  care  for  many  small  mat- 
ters that  the  father  formerly  looked  after.  If 
the  home  is  on  the  farm,  various  kinds  of  light 
work  fall  to  the  boy  also.  Caring  for  horses, 
cattle,  hogs,  and  poultry  are  essential  features. 
Unfortunately,  in  cities  there  is  little  for  the  boy 


10  The  Family  and  Society 

to  do  at  home  and  he  consequently  misses  an 
essential  part  of  his  training  and  development. 
But  in  many  occupations,  the  boys  gravitate  into 
the  occupation  of  the  father  and  begin  to  work 
with  him  early  in  life.  The  girls  likewise  assist 
the  mother  in  her  household  duties  as  they  get 
old  enough,  and  the  technique  of  housekeeping 
and  care  of  children  is  thus  obtained  by  them. 
/Not  only  do  the  children  obtain  an  idea  of 
division  of  labor  in  the  home  but  learn  to  co- 
operate, to  bear  and  share  responsibility;  and 
what  is  of  great  importance,  they  get  a  discipline, 
a  habit  of  industry  which  is  necessary  for 
productive  citizenship. 

/  Second,  family  life  epitomises  the  great  eco- 
'iiomic  activities  of  society  in  that  it  involves 
1  ■  production,  distribution,  and  consumption  of 
wealth.  That  it  consumes  wealth  in  the  articles 
and  foods  it  uses  is  obvious.  Its  productive 
activity  may  consist  of  the  produce  raised  on 
the  farm,  the  foods  and  clothes  worked  up  into 
consumptive  form  in  the  home  itself,  or  be  rep- 
resented by  the  income  gained  from  the  occupa- 
tions of  members  of  the  family.  The  income 
may  be  shared  on  a  fair  and  open  basis  or  very 
unequally,  as  in  society  generally.  Unfair  fam- 
ily distribution  may  be  accepted  passively  or 
resented  and  so  become  a  cause  of  family  dis- 


Functions  of  the  Family  11 

memberment.  Fortunate  are  the  children  and 
wise  the  parents  of  the  family  in  which  justice 
and  equity  in  sharing  the  income  obtains.  Fur- 
ther, a  large  item  in  preparing  children  for  life 
is  their  training  in  using  and  caring  for  some 
share  of  the  income,  though  it  may  be  small. 

Third,  the  governmental  institutions  of  society 
have  their  prototype  in  the  family. _/The  familyX 
has  its  head  and  executive  in  father  or  mother,  \ 
its  laws  which  are  laid  down  by  the  parents  in 
rules  of  action,  its  common  law  in  the  family 
customs  and  common  consent,  its  court  of  justice 
as  infractions  of  law  and  custom  are  judged,  its 
penal  and  reformatory  phases  in  the  treatment 
accorded  offenders,  its  public  opinion  which 
affects  its  legislative,  administrative,  and  judicial 
activities.  Further,  it  may  make  budgets  so  as 
to  keep  within  its  income  and  have  a  sinking  fund 
for  emergencies.  Thus  the  children  in  the  home 
are  made  acquainted  with  the  essentials  of  gov- 
ernmental functions  and  are  able  to  appreciate 
the  simpler  aspects  of  the  state  when  they  meet 
it  as  citizens.  One  of  the  conspicuous  truths 
arising  from  the  study  of  criminals  is  that  ruth- 
less, loose,  and  unfair  family  governments  have 
far  reaching  effects  towards  making  anti-social^ 
individuals.  The  converse  is  also  true,  namely, 
that  a  well  governed  and  conducted  family  pro- 


12  The  Family  and  Society 

\       motes  the  socialization  of  the  offspring  in  a  most 

'       effective  manner. 
^       Fourth,  education  is  begun  in  the  family.   In- 

\  deed,  the  most  important  educative  period  takes 
place  in  the  home.  The  perceptive  period  of 
childhood  covers  the  first  few  years  of  life.  In 
those  years  the  normal  child  is  hungry  to  know 
objects  and  their  qualities  and  the  larger  part  of 
this  kind  of  knowledge  of  the  world  is  obtained 
then.  The  intelligent  parent  is  of  utmost  assist- 
ance to  the  child  in  this  and  in  all  learning 
directions.  The  child's  first  information  comes 
from  its  parents  and  it  is  dependent  on  them  for 
years  as  its  chief  authoritative  informants.  Since 
wide  and  exact  information  plays  so  large  a  part 
in  the  modem  world,  it  is  essential  that  this 
acquisitive  period  should  be  stimulated  and  devel- 
oped in  every  good  way.  "  Dull  pupils  "  are  quite 
largely  the  product  of  dull  homes.  The  home 
that  is  backward  in  conversation,  books  and 
papers,  story  telling,  and  efforts  to  open  up 
the  child's  imagination  can  not  give  the  stimulus 
that  the  development  of  intelligence  requires. 
Where  the  parents  pay  no  attention  to  books  and 
papers  and  carry  on  no  discussions,  it  is  rare 
that  the  children  establish  a  reading  habit.  Large 
items  in  the  education  of  individuals  are  those 
of   sanitation,   health,   and   sex  hygiene.      The 


Functions  of  the  Family  13 

home  that  carefully  attends  to  these  matters 
exercises  a  beneficent  influence  on  the  future 
career  of  its  children,  and  a  profound  effect  on 
the  world.  Much  of  the  deficit  in  the  health 
and  strength  of  mature  men  and  women  is  due 
to  the  neglect  of  childhood.  The  parents  who 
maintain  healthful  conditions  in  the  home  and 
teach  the  young  by  example  and  rational  training 
to  care  for  themselves  properly,  are  indeed  social 
benefactors.  As  in  other  matters  a  good  habit 
established  early  is  better  than  much  teaching 
and  lecturing  later.  Especially  in  sex  matters 
the  home  is  the  most  suitable  educator.  Intelli- 
gent and  sympathetic  parents  are  better  able  to 
explain  the  mysteries,  functions,  and  responsi- 
bilities of  reproduction  to  their  offspring  than 
any  outside  parties.  Much  of  the  vice  of  the 
times  is  traceable  to  ignorance,  false  modesty, 
and  neglect  on  the  part  of  fathers  and  mothers. 
In  too  many  cases  the  influence  and  example  of 
the  parents  is  not  only  negative  but  conduces  to 
creating  vicious  careers.    I 

Moral  training  is  an  essential  factor  in  educa- 
tion and  is  a  vital  affair  of  the  family.  Genuine 
ethical  training  is  best  given  in  the  home. 
Language,  mathematics,  sciences  of  all  kinds  may 
be  taught  more  efficiently  by  institutions  of  learn- 
ing.   But  society  trains  but  rudely  in  morals.    It 


14  The  Family  and  Society 

recognizes  only  the  gross  and  outward  sins;  it 
punishes  harshly  and  unsympathetically.  "  The 
fundamental  conception  of  a  true  self-assertion 
and  a  genuine  self-sacrifice"  are  learned  only  in 
the  family.  In  it  "the  strong  learn  to  respect 
the  weaker,  the  weak  are  encouraged  to  develop 
their  strength  by  using  it,  under  the  influence 
of  family  love.  The  absoluteness  of  duty,  and 
the  true  excellence  of  virtue,  can  be  learned  only 
in  the  family.  Only  a  parent  can  say  '  thou 
shalt ;'  and  compel  hearty  obedience  by  the  power 
of  an  overmastering  love."  It  is  a  most  difficult 
task  to  inculcate  duty  and  disciplined  obedience 
in  adults  who  have  never  learned  them  in  the 
T"  home.  Loyal  citizens  of  the  state  areytnade  by 
sympathetic  yet  firm  parental  control.  yThe  home 
is  the  best  generator  of  civic  sentiments  and 
virtues. )  It  promotes  the  development  of  loyalty 
and  patriotism  since^the  fatherland  is  the  exten- 
sion of  the  home,  i  The  self-sacrifice  and  devo- 
tion that  are  dematided  in  the  larger  community 
life  are  bom  and  nourished  in  the  family.  The 
qualities  of  personality  which  society  so  highly 
appreciates,  those  delicate  excellencies  of  honor, 
tact,  and  sympathy,  are  learned  outside  the  home 
only  by  the  rarest  experience,  but  seldom  at  all. 
The  life  of  the  family  is  highly  conducive  to 
the  development  of  the  moral  life  of  the  parent. 


Functions  of  the  Family  15 

The  establishment  of  a  home  and  family  creates 
a  new  sense  of  responsibility  and  develops  powers 
hitherto  rudimentary.  It  brings  into  play  the 
moral  power  of  self-sacrifice,  of  living  and  striv- 
ing for  the  group,  so  little  developed  in  single 
persons.  It  enhances  and  promotes  the  ideal  in 
life  and  puts  a  premium  on  self -subordination 
and  discipline  to  realize  that  ideal. 

Fifth,  in  matters  of  religion,  the  life  of  the 
family  plays  an  essential  role  in  one  way  or  an- 
other. Religion  is  less  an  affair  of  birth  than 
of  cultivation.  While  the  child  that  does  not 
secure  its  religious  ideas  in  the  home  may  later 
become  religious,  its  religion  is  likely  to  be  less 
deep  and  more  artificial  than  in  the  case  of  the 
child  who  develops  in  the  midst  of  a  religious 
atmosphere.  Until  civilized  times  the  family  was 
closely  bound  up  with  worship,  and  if  the  larger 
society  was  religious  it  was  because  the  home 
life  was  intensely  such.  Modem  religion  has 
become  less  superstitious  and  more  ethical.  Sci- 
ence and  the  sceptical  attitude  f^more  general. 
The  church  is  generally  divorced  from  the  state. 
While  society  now  is  not  religious  in  form  it 
possesses  a  religious  structure,  the  church,  which 
fosters  religion  in  the  home  and  serves  as  the 
religious  nexus  between  the  home  and  society  at 
large.     No  doubt  a  truly  ethical  religious  atmos- 


16  The  Family  and  Society 

"Sphere  in  the  average  home  would  be  influential 
in  making  better  citizens. 

Sixth,  the  home  touches  the  larger  world  by 
its  attitude  relative  to  recreation  and  beauty. 
Whether  the  tastes  of  the  young  shall  be  devel- 
oped or  undeveloped,  high  or  low,  depends  more 
on  what  the  home  presents  and  encourages  than 
on  any  other  factor.  Cleanliness,  order,  taste  in 
arrangement,  comeliness  or"Tiouse  and  grounds, 
are  conditions  that  mould  the  soul  of  the  child 
in  its  daily  reactions  and  development.  In  like 
manner  the  attitude  and  tastes  of  the  parents 
relative  to  what  sports  and  forms  of  recreation 
are  suitable  give  a  direction  to  the  lives  of  the 
children.  Since  games,  sports,  and  recreation 
constitute  such  a  vital  part  in  the  life  of  the 
world,  are  agencies  which  befoul  or  purify  it, 
it  follows  that  fathers  and  mothers  have  a  very 
large  responsibility  in  moulding  the  appetites  and 
directing  the  recreational  activities  of  their 
offspring. 

3.  Relation  of  Family  to  Society 

We  have  seen  how  profoundly  the  family  con- 
tributes to  the  larger  social  life  in  exercising  its 
function  of  socializing  the  young  individuals. 
What  is  to  be  discussed  here  might  have  been 
developed  there,  since  what  is  to  be  said  still 


Functions  of  the  Family  17 

\ 
concerns  the  development  of  the  offspring.  How\ 
ever,  the  point  of  emphasis  in  discussing  sociolog- 
ical reproduction  was  the  function  of  the  family 
in  preparing  its  offspring  to  lead  a  social  life, 
in  socializing,  humanizing,  personalizing  them. 
The  emphasis  now  is  to  be  on  society  itself  rather 
than  on  the  offspring.  In  what  fundamental 
ways  is  society  affected  by  the  life  and  work 
of  the  domestic  institution.'* 

First,  how  far  is  the  family  an  independent 
social  group,  and  in  what  sense,  if  at  all,  is  it 
the  social  unit.f*  In  discussions  of  the  family  it 
is  frequently  asserted  that  that  group  is  self- 
sufficing  and  that  it  is  the  only  group  that  is. 
This  was  true  of  the  family  in  patriarchal  times 
because  at  that  time  it  was  society.  A  family 
group  was  a  society,  and  although  many  such 
groups  may  have  sustained  loose  relations  to  a 
larger  governmental  order,  the  essential  functions 
and  activities  of  a  society  were  carried  on  in  the 
patriarchal  institution.  In  almost  an  exclusive 
sense  it  was  self-sufficing.  Had  there  been  no 
other  groups,  no  larger  governmental  organiza- 
tion, which  often  was  the  case,  it  could  reproduce 
its  members  and  prosecute  the  sustaining  and  reg- 
ulating activities  necessary  to  group  existence. 
Even  in  later  times,  as  seen  in  the  case  ofy 
frontier  life  in  America  before  the  industrial  erju 


y 


18  The  Family  and  Society 

/  the  family  was  self-sustaining,  and  in  connection 
with  other  families,  self -protecting.  However, 
conditions  have  changed.  Under  a  highly  indus- 
trialized, specialized,  interdependently  function- 
ing complex  of  social  structures,  the  family  is 
quite  dependent  on  the  larger  community  for  its 
life  and  prosperity.  This  is  obviously  true  in 
urban  communities.  But  it  is  almost  as  true  for 
rural  regions.  In  relatively  few  cases  could  the 
farm  family  support  itself  apart  from  society 
at  large.  The  produce  of  the  farm  is  not  raised 
for  home  consumption,  but  is  disposed  of  in 
distant  markets.  The  grain  must  be  sent  away 
to  be  ground  into  flour  and  meal  so  that  bread 
may  be  made.  The  clothes,  groceries,  implements 
are  manufactured  in  factories  and  sold  to  farmers. 
Education  is  a  community  affair.  The  govern- 
ment builds  roads,  bridges,  school-houses,  and 
performs  other  useful  and  necessary  services. 
Were  the  farm  family  reduced  to  a  self-sufficing 
basis,  civilization  would  move  backward  a  cen- 
tury and  the  nation  would  suffer  a  large  depop- 
ulation. The  urban  family  is  directly  and  im- 
mediately dependent  on  society  at  large  for  its 
sustenance,  education,  conveniences,  and  protec- 

\tion  in  many  ways. 

We  must  conclude  that  the  family  is  not  a 
self-sufficing,  independent  institution  but  that  it 


Functions  of  the  Family  19 

is  grounded  on  the  existence  and  welfare  of  the 
larger  social  order. 

The  uncritical  statement  is  often  made  that 
the  family  is  the  social  unit.  Since  there  are 
many  kinds  of  social  units  the  family  can  not 
be  the  social  unit.  The  United  States  census 
gives  statistics  of  the  population  of  the  nation 
by  families,  to  be  sure.  But  it  also  does  the  same 
by  individuals,  by  races,  by  nationalities,  by  sex, 
age,  and  so  on.  For  most  statistical  purposes 
the  individual  is  the  unit  of  society.  The  same 
is  true  for  most  economic  and  sociological  con- 
siderations. The  point  is  made  that  since  society 
may  be  resolved  into  families  which  alone  of  the 
many  social  factors  are  capable  of  self-repro- 
duction it  alone  is  the  true  unit.  Were  society 
eliminated  by  a  great  catastrophe,  most  of  the 
population  destroyed,  the  ideas  of  achieve- 
ment lost  so  that  the  race  had  to  begin  afresh, 
the  family  would  doubtless  be  the  starting  place 
in  the  process  of  reconstruction.  Individuals 
would  not  be  self -reproducing.  But  such  a  sit- 
uation is  unthinkable.  As  we  have  seen,  taking 
society  as  it  is  today,  the  family  is  not  self- 
sufficing  and  independent,  and  consequently  pos- 
sesses practically  no  .claim  to  being  the  exclusive 
social  unit. 

Second,  the  family  institution  is  a  part  of  the 


20  The  Family  and  Society 

mechanism  of  society  by  which  the  social  order 
is  perpetuated.  It  is  said  that  the  universe  is 
orderly  because  its  various  systems  of  suns,  plan- 
ets, and  nebulae  preserve  relatively  the  same  rela- 
tions to  each  other  in  their  movements  and  rota- 
tions. Were  our  solar  system  to  vary  incalculably 
or  were  a  nebula  to  tear  across  the  universe  in 
an  irresponsible  manner,  were  things  to  act* 
chaotically  and  without  regular  relations  to  each 
other,  there  would  be  no  universe,  no  order.  In 
like  manner  there  is  said  to  be  a  social  order 
because  the  various  organizations,  institutions, 
customs,  ideas,  which  constitute  society  remain 
comparatively  fixed  and  orderly  relative  to  each 
other.  A  relatively  stable  and  fixed  social  order 
is  not  only  a  great  convenience  but  a  prime 
necessity  for  purposes  of  conducting  the  affairs 
of  life.  If  we  are  to  carry  any  plan  or  pursuit 
to  a  successful  end  it  is  requisite  that  the  future 
conditions  involved  in  the  enterprise  shall  be 
known.  That  means  that  they  shall  be  fixed  and 
orderly  so  that  they  may  be  understood.  While 
society  does  undergo  transformations  from  time 
to  time,  while  evolution  and  progress  are  de- 
sirable, nevertheless  pursuits  and  happiness  in 
life  demand  a  large  amount  of  social  stability. 
Sociologists  have  worked  out  a  doctrine  of 
the  social  order  and  of  progress.    Progress  comes 


Functions  of  the  Family  21 

by  reason  of  gradual  changes  introduced  into 
society  which  are  chiefly  caused  by  the  inventions 
and  achievements,  the  new  ideas,  which  are  con- 
tributed by  men  and  women  of  talent ;  providing 
always  that  these  changes  advance  the  common 
welfare.  On  the  other  hand,  the  social  order 
is  maintained  by  reason  of  a  kind  of  social 
inertia.  The  mass  of  men  are  imitative,  not 
creative.  New  ideas  do  not  reach  them  in  child- 
hood when  the  mass  of  ideas  are  established.  The 
ideas  that  have  been  handed  down  from  time 
immemorial  through  successive  generations  con- 
stitute the  common  stock  of  mental  pabulum. 
Tradition  acts  as  a  long  leading  string  that  binds 
the  present  to  the  past.  Custom  constitutes  a 
great  mould  which,  like  the  basket  used  by  the 
Chinook  Indians  to  deform  the  heads  of  their 
infants,  presses  upon  the  mind  of  every  child. 
Conventionality  weaves  its  web  about  the  minds 
of  the  new  generation.  Imitation  plaj^s  like  a 
shuttle  through  them  all.  Hence  the  generation 
growing  up  becomes  like  that  which  surrounds 
it.  The  old  order  changes  slowly,  if  it  changes 
at  all.  Those  that  desire  a  new  order  are  able 
to  reach  the  mass  of  citizens  but  slightly.  Hence 
progress  is  not  catastrophic. 

This  brief  exposition  enables  us  to  see  how 
the  family  enters  into  the  situation.     It  takes 


The  Family  and  Society 


^e  young  in  the  great  imitative  period  of  life 
]fi^hen  they  are  most  plastic  and  impresses  upon 
them  the  stock  of  ideas  which  the  parents  re- 
ceived from  their  parents  in  turn  and  which  have 
been  but  little  modified  by  their  larger  contact 
and  experience  with  the  world.  For  the  mass  of 
people  life  consists  more  of  habitual  movements 
organized  into  activities  than  it  does  of  ideas. 
Modes  of  doing  things :  keeping  house,  sweeping, 
dusting,  bread-making,  preserving  fruits,  caring 
for  children,  going  to  church,  disposal  of  leisure 
time,  home  manners,  attitude  towards  wife  and 
children,  outlook  on  life  and  the  world,  and  mul- 
titudes of  other  activities  and  attitudes  constitute 
the  larger  side  of  life  of  the  masses.  These  are 
learned  and  perpetuated  by  home  influences.  In 
modem  times  the  press,  theater,  education,  and 
other  agencies  have  entered  into  the  situation  to 
^^^,_counteract  the  conservative  influence  of  the  home. 
Before  their  time  society  moved  forward  but 
little  because  of  the  dominating  influence  of  the 
two  great  conservative  agencies,  the  family  and 
the  church.  In  religion,  sociability  forms,  and 
in  the  transfer  of  property  in  the  line  of  descent, 
the  family  is  a  conspicuous  example  of  con- 
servation, sometimes  of  reaction.  It  is  likewise 
a  conservative  medium  for  the  transmission  of 
ethical  doctrines  and  of  sentiments. 


Functions  of  the  Family 


Third,  the  family  as  family  appears  to  touch 
the  matter  of  social  progress  but  little,  save  on 
the  assimilative  side.  Yet  there  are  certain 
aspects  of  progress  in  which  the  domestic  institu- 
tion may  have  a  part.  As  in  biological  matters 
variation  is  the  basis  of  evolution,  new  kinds  of 
plants  and  animals  which  are  better  adapted  to 
live  being  initiators  of  new  varieties  or  at  least 
making  advances  in  the  stock  of  forms;  so  in 
society  beneficial  changes  are  instigated  by  indi- 
vidual and  societal  variations.  A  better  physical 
stock  of  men  is  conducive  to  the  improvement 
of  society  and  serves  as  the  basis  of  creating  a 
higher  order  of  intellectual  activity.  Since 
genius  is  so  closely  bound  up  with  body  and  brain 
we  must  expect  an  improved  stock  of  people  to 
give  rise  to  a  larger  share  of  potential  talent. 
It  is  the  business  of  society  to  see  that  this  born 
genius  becomes  matured  and  fruitful.  But  the 
family  by  careful  selection  in  mating  may  act 
as  a  promoter  of  progress  relative  to  securing  a 
better  physical  stock. 

We  have  seen  that  progress  is  secured  by  the  \ 
changes  which  ensue  by  the  adoption  on  the 
part  of  society  of  the  contributions  of  its  men 
of  talent  and  genius.  These  inventions  are  not 
f>nly  material,  as  the  locomotive,  harvester,  tele- 
gu^aph,  printing  press;,   but  take  the  form  of 

y 


\ 


24  The  Family  and  Society 

books,  scientific  discoveries,  legislation,  literature, 
art,  plans,  and  organization  for  social  ameliora 
tion.  Doubtless  many  men  of  real  genius  lit 
undiscovered  in  backward  communities  and  dull 
homes.  'Had  the  same  individuals  been  bom  and 
reared  in  the  enlightened  and  stimulating  atmos- 
phere of  cultured  homes  they  would  have  had  the 
opportunities  of  becoming  productive.  It  is  here 
that  the  home  has  a  chance  to  make  its  con- 
tribution to  social  progress  by  placing  intel- 
lectual opportunities  before  the  child  or  placing 
the  child  in  contact  with  the  opportunities  of 
intellectual  quickening.  It  may  be  in  nature 
study,  in  mechanics,  invention,  literature,  music ; 
but  the  opportunity  to  self -discovery  is  what  is 
needed.  The  development  of  a  public  school  sys- 
tem has  taken  a  part  of  the  responsibility  off  the 
family.  (But  alert,  resourceful,  devoted  parents 
will  always  have  an  exceptional  work  to  do  in 
stimulating  and  awakening  the  minds  of  the 
children  in  their  earlier  years.  1 

But  since  progress  is  niore-^than  mere  social 
change,  since  it  is  essentially  those  changes  which 
advance  the  welfare  of  the  masses  of  citizens,  the 
ethical  sentiments  are  involved  in  it.  Society 
often  flounders  through  a  period  of  profound 
changes  by  reason  of  the  introduction  of  new  f  ac- 
tprs  when  it  cannot  be  said  that  it  is  making 


Functions  of  the  Family  25 

progress  because  the  fruits  of  the  new  creations 
are  being  appropriated  by  a  few  shrewd  and 
selfish  individuals.  Moreover,  a  nation  may  send 
out  its  armies  in  a  ruthless  war  because  of  false 
sentiments.  Could  the  social  outlook  be  given, 
could  individuals  be  ethically  socialized,  the  pro- 
moters of  great  undertakings  would  share  their 
benefits  with  the  mass  of  men  who  contribute  to 
their  success  and  the  citizenship  of  a  nation  would 
insist  on  international  justice,  rather  than  on 
revenge  and  exploitation.  The  foundations  of 
the  ethics  of  life  are  laid  in  the  life  of  the  family. 
Selfish  and  militant  parents  impose  their  views 
on  the  growing  children  who  carry  the  view  into 
practice.  Conversely,  altruistic  and  societary 
minded  parents  fortunately  have  the  power  of 
giving  a  regard  for  the  rights  of  fellow  beings, 
an  interest  in  social  evolution  and  the  future  of 
mankind,  a  love  of  justice  in  its  larger  sense, 
that  will  truly  contribute  to  building  a  better 
world. 

4.   The  Family  in  Relation  to  Parents 

So  far  the  family  has  been  viewed  as  an  insti- 
tution existing  for  the  physical  and  social  repro- 
duction of  human  beings,  with  some  attention 
having  been  paid  to  its  relation  to  the  larger 
societary  world.    When  considered  relative  to  the 


26  The  Family  and  Society 

working  of  the  larger  economy  of  the  biological 
and  sociological  fields,  the  family  institution  un- 
doubtedly bears  the  aspect  of  being  chiefly  a 
reproductive  agency.  But  when  the  subjective 
rather  than  the  functional  aspect  is  attended  to 
other  factors  come  to  light.  For  mating  and 
..■marriage  never  would  have  taken  place  among 
^  higher  forms  of  life  had  not  the  sex  instinct 
resided  in  the  pairing  organisms.  The  instinct 
to  mate  carries  with  it  the  pain  and  pleasure 
inherent  to  the  most  intense  form  of  desire  within 
the  bounds  of  knowledge.  The  satisfaction  of 
that  desire  must  be  regarded  as  the  strongest 
and  most  influential  of  all  the  social  forces.  It 
has  produced  not  only  great  individual  eff^orts 
but  has  spurred  into  the  fight  masses  of  men 
who  otherwise  would  have  remained  inert. 

Again,  there  is  some  justification  for  saying 
that  the  parents  have  certain  rights  in  the  family. 
Fortunately,  among  civilized  men  the  time  is  past 
when  the  doctrine  that  the  end  of  mankind  is  to 
multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  that  child  bear- 
ing is  the  sole  object  of  woman's  existence,  is 
regarded  as  sacred.  When  that  teaching  pre- 
vailed the  wife  had  little  respite  during  the 
reproductive  period  and  she  was  aged  and  worn 
out  by  the  time  its  end  was  reached.  While 
many  parents  need  to  be  taught  their  larger 


I  Functions  of  the  Fmmly  27 

responsibilities  for  their  children  the  average 
parent  does  not  desire  to  shirk  the  parental 
duties  and  most  parents  wear  themselves  out  by 
the  use  of  wrong  and  backward  methods  of 
training  and  discipline.  .  The  adoption  of  en- 
lightened methods  wQuld  reduce  the  arduousness 
of  rearing  a  family.  )  The  right  of  parents  to 
some  leisure  and  to  some  relief  from  the  inces- 
sant care  of  children  needs  to  accompany  the 
insistence  on  the  performance  of  their  full  re- 
sponsibilities. Perhaps  this  right  will  not  be  re- 
alized until  the  community  makes  child  life  safe 
by  means  of  play  associations  so  that  children 
may  be  permitted  to  leave  the  confines  of  the 
home  at  times.  Spencer  makes  the  profound  gen- 
eralization that  "  in  proportion  as  organisms  be- 
come higher  they  are  individually  less  sacrificed 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  species ;  and  the  impli- 
cation is  that  in  the  highest  type  of  man  this 
sacrifice  falls  to  the  minimum."  He  further 
points  out  how  this  decreasing  subordination  of 
parents  to  the  species  is  brought  about.  "  First, 
by  the  elongation  of  that  period  which  precedes 
reproduction;  second,  by  decrease  in  the  num- 
ber of  offspring  borne,  as  well  as  by  increase  of 
the  pleasures  taken  in  the  care  of  them;  and 
third,  by  lengthening  of  the  life  which  follows 
cessation  of  reproduction."     This  has  been  the 


The  Family  and  Society 


tendency  during  the  whole  course  of  animal  and 
human  evolution.  Doubtless  something  remains 
to  be  accomplished  toward  increasing  the  pleas- 
ures of  parents  in  child  rearing. 

The  right  to  be  taken  care  of  when  they  are 
aged  and  worn  is  a  right  of  parents.  Society 
has  moved  forward  tremendously  in  this  since 
savage  times.  Old  men  and  women  then  were 
cast  aside  by  neglect,  or  because  sustenance  was 
difficult  to  secure  the  policy  was  forced  on  primi- 
tive groups  of  abandoning  or  putting  to  death 
old  people.  Among  certain  African  people  the 
father  would  ask  the  favorite  son  to  end  his 
days,  since  the  miseries  incident  to  old  age  were 
too  great  to  bear.  That  there  is  need  for  en- 
forcing on  the  minds  of  the  young  their  duties 
toward  making  the  last  days  of  their  parents 
comfortable  and  of  administering  cheer  to  them 
then  is  observed  from  the  fact  that  many  parents 
are  allowed  to  become  paupers  whose  children 
are  well  able  to  support  them.  It  is  noticed  that 
there  is  a  great  difference  among  immigrant  na- 
tionalities in  the  United  States  in  this  respect, 
certain  nationalities  showing  little  affection  for 
their  old  people  and  being  quite  willing  that  the 
state  should  assume  their  support.  By  means  of 
old   age   pensions   the   state   now   promises   to 


Functions  cf  the  Family  29 

ameliorate  the  conditions  under  which  the  de- 
clining days  of  its  old  workers  are  spent. 

5.  Summary 

Summarizing  this  chapter  we  are  enabled  to 
recall  the  following  ideas.  Since  the  family  is 
a  social  institution  it  should  produce  those  re- 
sults for  which  its  peculiar  nature  calls.  It  is 
found  by  experience  that  the  monogamic  family 
is  the  best  agency  to  renew  society  by  the  con- 
stant creation  of  new  physical  members.  It  con- 
serves childhood,  averts  close  inbreeding,  avoids 
venereal  diseases  which  promiscuity  brings,  and 
thus  begets  a  good  physical  stock.  The  family 
promotes  national  life  by  securing  a  settled  life 
and  by  yielding  a  growing  population. 

In  addition  to  reproducing  society  physically, 
the  family  reproduces  society  spiritually  by  so- 
cializing the  young.  Social  beings  are  not  bom, 
they  are  developed.  The  old  philosophical  puz- 
zle, Why  are  men's  minds  alike.'*  receives  its 
answer  in  the  simple  teaching  that  from  ini- 
tial society  parents  have  absorbed  the  ideas 
of  society  at  large,  have  conveyed  them  to 
the  minds,  and  impressed  them  on  the  children. 
Since  the  principles  at  the  basis  of  the  family 
and  of  society  generally  are  much  the  same, 
training  in  the  home  lays  the  foundation  for 


30  The  Family  and  Society 

participating  in  and  understanding  the  larger 
world.  Thus,  where  the  family  is  not  abnormal 
or  backward,  we  find  in  the  home  a  division  of 
labor,  the  various  economic  activities,  the  begin- 
nings and  rudiments  of  government,  of  educa- 
tion, and  the  inculcation  of  morals,  and  love  of 
order  and  beauty. 

If  the  family  prepares  for  society  generally, 
it  might  be  supposed  that  it  profoundly  affects 
society.  It  does  this  in  making  good  or  bad 
citizens.  In  another  way  it  affects  social  prog- 
ress, in  so  far  as  it  produces  men  and  women  of 
achievement.  But  for  the  most  part  the  family, 
like  the  church,  is  a  conserving,  rather  than  a 
dynamic,  institution. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  family  is 
an  independent,  self-sufficing  institution,  because 
it  is  related  to  society  in  general  in  so  many 
obvious  ways,  and  because  the  progress  of  a 
hundred  years  would  be  destroyed  did  one  re- 
vert to  the  condition  of  independent  families. 
Neither  is  the  family  the  social  unit  in  any  ex- 
clusive sense.  It  is  one  among  a  number  of 
social  units.  For  most  scientific  purposes  the 
individual  serves  as  the  social  unit. 

The  family  is  an  asylum  for  the  man  and 
woman  who  have  married  where  a  division  of 
labor  between  them  obtains,  and  where  ministra- 


Functions  of  the  Family 


31 


tions  of  affection  and  companionship  occur. 
While  they,  as  parents,  have  a  large  measure 
of  responsibility  and  duties  relative  to  their  off- 
spring, they  also  have  rights  as  parents  and  as 
human  beings.  They  are  morally  bound  to  suc- 
cor and  train  their  children.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  offspring  are  morally  bound  to  succor  and 
care  for  the  parents  in  their  years  of  decline. 


QA^p  jj^ 


CHAPTER  II 

Origin  of  Marriage 

MARRIAGE  is  commonly  regarded  as  the 
form  or  convention  by  which  a  man  and 
woman  are  made  husband  and  wife.  Because, 
however,  this  ceremony,  or  some  such  more  or 
less  formal  act,  initiates  a  relationship  between 
the  two  parties  which  continues  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  time,  and  that  most  often  brings  to  the 
pair  dependent  offspring,  the  term  marriage  is 
frequently  used  to  cover  the  matrimonial  insti- 
tution. But  since  the  pairing  of  male  and  fe- 
male for  purposes  of  reproduction  might  not 
result  in  what  we  today  think  of  as  the  family, 
and  wliich,  nevertheless,  actually  leads  up  to  or 
initiates  the  family,  it  is  proper  to  avoid  the  use 
of  the  latter  term  and  employ  that  of  marriage 
in  discussing  the  origin  of  the  marital  institu- 
tion. 

It  will  doubtless  prove  useful  to  give  the  term 
marriage  a  somewhat  concise  meaning,  otherwise 
the  impossibility  of  definitely  locating  the  origin 
of  the  institution  is  obvious.  It  immediately  be- 
comes evident  that  we  cannot  transfer  our  mod- 
em meaning  back  to  primitive  times.  Should 
32 


Origin  of  Marriage 


wf:  do  so  we  would  be  embarrassed  by  the  dis- 
covery of  many  marital  forms  which  could  not 
be  embraced  in,  or  would  be  incongruous  with, 
our  conception.  Our  conception  would  be  too 
rich  and  manifold  in  its  elements  to  fit  the  nar- 
row situation.  This  is  generally  true  in  the  hunt 
for  origins.  In  treating  the  evolution  of  re- 
ligion it  has  been  found  necessary  to  define  re- 
ligion in  the  simplest  terms,  to  strip  off  the  rich 
efflorescence  of  later  times,  so  that  the  definition 
may  serve  to  describe  and  designate  the  highest, 
most  developed  form  of  religion,  as  well  as  the 
lowest  and  poorest.  In  that  case  and  in  the  pres- 
ent one  it  is  necessary  to  find  the  irreducible 
minimum,  to  reduce  our  conception  to  its  lowest 
terms. 

Westermarck  says  that  most  of  the  definitions 
which  are  given  of  marriage  are  of  a  juridical 
or  ethical  nature,  '^  comprehending  either  what 
is  required  to  make  the  union  legal,  or  what,  in 
the  eye  of  an  idealist,  the  union  ought  to  be." 
Evidently  such  definitions  are  unfit  for  our  pres- 
ent purpose.  The  writer  mentioned  has  given 
what  is  perhaps  the  simplest  definition,  one  on 
which  it  would  be  difficult  to  improve.  He  says : 
"From  a  scientific  point  of  view,  I  think  there 

but  one  definition  which  may  claim  to  be  gen- 
rally  admitted,  that,  namely,  according  to  which 


The  Family  and  Society 


marriage  is  nothing  else  than  a  more  or  less  dur- 
able connection  between  male  and  female,  last- 
ing beyond  the  mere  act  of  propagation  till 
after  the  birth  of  the  offspring."  This  is  wide 
enough  to  include  all  sex  relations  which  may  be 
called  marriage,  and  narrow  enough  to  exclude 
merely  promiscuous  relations.  Because  of  its 
adequacy  this  meaning  will  be  emploj^ed. 

1.  Marriage  Among  Animals 

The  problem  of  the  origin  of  marriage  con- 
cerns itself  not  alone  with  the  history  of  matri- 
monial institutions  among  men.  At  least  the 
treatment  accorded  it  by  numerous  writers  would 
indicate  this.  Herbert  Spencer,  Letoumeau, 
Westermarck,  Howard,  and  others  begin  their 
studies  of  marriage  by  a  survey  of  sex  relations 
in  the  animal  series  below  man.  It  is  conceived 
that  the  biological  conditions  out  of  which  human 
institutions  arose  are  rooted  in  the  evolving  ani- 
mal world.  Further,  it  is  thought  that  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  human  institution  of  marriage 
might  be  discovered  there.  The  first  supposition 
is  doubtless  well  founded.  Man  has  so  many  ap- 
petites, instincts,  mental  traits,  and  bodily  struc- 
tures that  are  also  common  to  animals,  and  which 
are  explicable  only  by  supposing  that  the  former 
grew  out  of  the  latter,  that  we  should  expect 


^  Origin  of  Marriage  36 

to  find  the  biological  conditions  which  regulate 
sex  matters  coming  down  to  us  from  the  past. 
The  latter  supposition  does  not  rest  on  the  same 
necessity.  For  marriage  is  much  more  likely  to 
be  a  social  arrangement,  an  affair  into  which 
the  element  of  rational  agreement  enters  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Consequently,  there  is  far 
less  probability  that  it  occurs  among  animals 
than  that  the  biological  conditions  regulating 
sex  matters  among  men  arose  there  and  have  con- 
tinued to  operate  with  something  of  their  for- 
mer force. 

Westermarck  has  amply  proved  that  pairing 
of  a  somewhat  permanent  nature  frequently  oc- 
curs among  birds  and  beasts.  Among  birds 
especially,  the  bond  between  male  and  female  dur- 
ing the  "mating  season'*  is  so  strong  and  un- 
disturbed by  infidelity  that  a  certain  writer  re- 
marks that  the  only  genuine  marriage  is  found 
among  them.  In  the  lowest  form  of  life  par- 
entage is  unknown,  sex  not  having  appeared. 
When  it  does  arise  the  early  parents  are  not  con- 
cerned with  the  offspring.  Eventually,  however, 
the  mother  develops  solicitude  for  the  young, 
and  with  the  extension  of  the  span  of  life  and 
also  of  infancy  of  the  young,  this  maternal  at- 
tention increases.  Occasionally  the  male  parent 
of  a  species  exhibits  some  consideration  for  the 


36  The  Family  and  Society 

offspring  by  participating  in  feeding  and  caring 
for  it.  More  frequently  the  mother  fights  the 
family  battle  alone. 

Did  it  suffice  to  consider  that  one  parent  in 
charge  of  the  offspring  constituted  the  family, 
there  could  be  no  question  but  that  that  insti- 
tution begins  among  animals.  But  the  continu- 
ance of  the  male  with  the  female  until  after  the 
young  are  bom,  except  among  birds,  is  rather 
exceptional.  It  is  notorious  that  among  our 
domestic  animals  the  mother  alone  cares  for  the 
offspring.  The  function  of  the  male  is  com- 
pleted in  the  process  of  fertilization.  As  we 
defined  marriage,  that  institution  exists  only  in 
exceptional  cases  among  animals  exclusive  of  the 
anthropoidea  and  birds. 

Relative  to  birds,  while  it  must  be  said  that 
they  show  an  almost  universal  seasonal  pairing, 
a  fidelity  lasting  from  nesting,  or  nest-building, 
to  the  flying  of  the  fledglings,  the  fact  is  rather 
inconsequential  for  the  question  of  human  mar- 
riage. Men  did  not  descend  from  birds.  Conse- 
quently anything  birds  practiced  could  have  had 
but  very  slight  influence  on  human  action.  Men 
may  have  imitated  birds  in  certain  particulars, 
as  ethnology  shows,  but  those  imitations  ex- 
hausted themselves  on  matters  of  decoration  and 
armor.     The  matrimonial  institution  is  too  fun- 


Origin  of  Marriage  37 

damental  a  social  affair  to  be  much  subject  to 
imitation  of  bird  practice.  In  default  of  a  bio- 
logical and  a  sociological  continuity  between 
men  and  birds  it  is  obvious  that  the  pairing  of 
birds  is  irrelevant  to  the  question  of  human  mar- 
riage. 

The  question  of  the  life  and  practices  of  the 
apes  is  far  more  important.  Man  is  not  a  direct 
descendant  of  the  apes  but  rather  from  a  stock 
of  animals  which  sprung  from  a  stem  common 
to  human  beings  and  the  apes.  The  practices  of 
this  ancestral  stock  were  doubtless  closely  akin 
to  those  of  the  apes.  Consequently  the  life  of 
apes  reflects  that  of  man's  pre-human  ancestors. 
Darwin  believed  that  apes  led  a  social  life.  Bed- 
dard  states  that  baboons  "live  in  herds,"  and 
recent  African  hunters  describe  the  human-like 
antics  and  collective  actions  of  these  creatures. 
Beddard  says  of  the  gorilla  that  it  "  goes  about 
in  families,  with  but  one  adult  male,  who  later 
has  to  dispute  his  position  as  leader  of  the  band 
with  another  male,  whom  he  kills  or  drives  away, 
or  by  whom  he  is  killed  or  driven  away.  The 
animal  is  said  to  make  a  nest  in  a  tree  like  the 
orang,  but  this  statement  has  been  questioned." 
(Mammalia,  pp.  566  and  576.)  Flower  and 
Lydekker  also  affirm  that  the  gorilla  "lives  in 
family  parties."    It  is  far  more  f rugivorous  than 


88  The  Family  and  Society 

the  orang,  which  shows  a  strong  hking  for  ani- 
mal food.  It  is  evident  that  the  gibbon  lives  in 
packs,  from  the  fact  that  in  making  its  double, 
human-like  call,  which  is  one  of  the  most  common 
forest  sounds,  "several  join  in  the  cry,  like 
hounds  giving  the  tongue."  This  animal  is 
largely  vegetarian,  though  it  is  fond  of  spiders, 
insects,  bird's  eggs,  and  even  birds  themselves. 
As  to  the  chimpanzees,  they  "  are  essentially 
forest  dwellers,  and  are  more  arboreal  in  their 
habits  than  the  gorilla.  They  live  either  in 
families,  or  in  small  parties  of  several  families. 
Frequently,  at  least,  they  construct  a  kind  of 
nest  in  the  trees  as  a  sleeping  place;  the  male 
being  said  to  sleep  on  a  forked  branch  below  the 
level  of  this  nest."  (Flower  and  Lydekker, 
Mammals,  Living  and  Extinct,  pp.  730-736.) 

Westermarck  reviews  evidence  gleaned  from 
the  works  of  several  observers  relative  to  the 
gorilla,  orang-outang,  and  chimpanzee,  and  con- 
cludes that  for  most  part  they  lead  a  solitary 
life,  existing  in  small  groups  with  a  male  at  the 
head,  in  pairs,  or  sometimes  wandering  alone. 
He  further  finds  that  they  have  a  rutting,  or 
pairing,  season,  at  which  time  the  males  battle 
with  each  other  for  supremacy.  He  holds  the 
belief,  too  confidently  I  think,  in  view  of  the 


Origin  of  Marriage  39 


slender  evidence,  that  simple  pairing,  or  monog- 
amy, obtains  among  them.  Letourneau,  on  the 
other  hand,  thinks  that  apes  are  often  gregari- 
ous and  sometimes  monogamous,  sometimes  po- 
ly gynous,*  more  often  the  latter.  The  logic  of 
the  whole  situation  recommends  his  position  as 
the  correct  one. 

Among  the  lower  forms  of  life  there  is  one 
interesting  fact  for  a  sociological  study  of  the 
family.  While  the  family  instinct  is  widespread 
among  animals,  among  ants,  bees,  and  termites  i 
it  has  apparently  been  distributed  over  the  whole  I 
group.  There  is  no  family  among  those  groups. 
The  queen  is  fertilized  by  one  or  more  of  the 
drones,  who  then  die  or  are  dispatched.  The 
queen  is  a  mere  egg  producer.  The  mothering 
of  the  young  is  performed  by  the  workers,  who 
are  neither  fathers  nor  mothers,  but  who  yet 
possess  a  nursing  instinct  and  a  group  altruism 
which  are  effective.  In  these  cases  a  complicated 
social  organism  exists  without  a  family  institu- 
tion. Hence,  here  at  least,  the  family  is  not  the 
social  unit. 

*In  this  volume  polygyny  and  polygynous  are  used 
instead  of  the  popular  terms  polygamy  and  polygamous. 
According  to  the  meaning  of  the  original  roots  from 
which  the  words  are  derived,  gama  means  marriage  while 
gynos  means  woman.  Hence  polygamy  denotes  pluralistic 
marriage  while  polygyny  signifies  plural  wives. — Editoe. 


40  The  Family  and  Society 

2,  The  Earliest  Human  Sex  Relation 

When  we  ascend  to  the  human  stage  of  evolu- 
tion a  most  compHcated  situation  exists  relative 
to  marriage.  First,  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain 
the  exact  family  conditions  of  primitive  men 
who  now  exist  or  have  recently  existed.  Sec- 
ond, how  much  force  toward  settling  the  ques- 
tion of  earliest  human  marriage  shall  be  ac- 
corded to  the  scant  beginnings  of  marriage 
among  man's  animal  ancestors  .^^  This  second 
question  is  complicated  by  the  fact  that  a  great 
gulf  exists  between  present  primitive  man  and 
the  highest  existing  animal  species.  Prehistoric 
man,  man  from  his  origin  up  to  the  stage  of  cul- 
ture represented  by  present  primitive  man,  fills, 
by  a  rough  estimate,  a  period  of  time  amounting 
to  450,000  years.  Beyond  the  first  prehistoric 
man  extends  another  extensive  period  until  man's 
animal  ancestors,  the  cousins  of  the  anthropoid 
apes,  are  reached. 

Many  theories  have  been  developed  as  to  the 
relation  of  the  sexes  among  primitive  men.  First, 
the  theory  of  promiscuity,  the  belief  that  males 
and  females  paired  temporarily  and  without  re- 
gard to  relations  of  kinship.  Second,  the  patri- 
archal theory,  the  doctrine  which  holds  that  the 
primordial  group  consisted  of  the  eldest  valid 
male  parent,  all  agnatic  descendants  and  adopted 


Origin  of  Marriage  41 

persons,  together  with  slaves,  dients,  and  other 
dependents,  organized  under  the  despotic  au- 
thority of  the  eldest  male,  the  patriarch.  Third, 
the  theory  of  original  monogamy.  Fourth,  the 
theory  that  various  forms  of  marriage  existed 
from  the  first,  with  monogamy  the  predominant 
form.  Fifth,  the  theory  that  the  various  kinds 
of  marriage  groups  —  polyandric,  polygynic, 
and  monogamic  —  appeared  from  the  beginning, 
according  to  circumstances,  but  that  monogamy 
was  rather  the  exception.  Bachofen,  Morgan, 
liubbock,  Engles,  and  others  have  defended  the 
first  theory;  Maine  and  his  school,  the  second; 
probably  the  majority  of  civilized  people  have 
held  the  third;  Letoumeau,  Westermarck,  and 
others,  the  fourth;  Herbert  Spencer  holds  the 
fifth  for  present  primitive  men,  with  suggestions 
of  prior  promiscuity. 

Our  concern  just  now  is  as  to  whether  any 
form  of  marriage  existed  at  first,  or  whether  the 
condition  of  sexual  promiscuity  prevailed  among 
primitive  men.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  only 
the  larger  aspects  of  the  problem  can  be  con- 
sidered in  this  small  volume. 

To  settle  the  question  it  has  been  necessary  to 
compile  the  facts  from  the  works  of  first  hand  ob- 
servers of  practically  all  existing  primitive  peo- 
ples.    This  has  been  done  by  Spencer,  Letour- 


42  The  Family  and  Society 

neau,  and  later  by  Westermarck.  Competent  stu- 
dents of  the  subject  generally  concede  that  these 
and  other  authorities  have  demonstrated  that 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  general  stage  of  pro- 
miscuity among  the  primitive  groups  visited  and 
studied  by  civilized  man.  Herbert  Spencer,  how- 
ever, intimates  that  the  loose  and  easy  marital 
and  sex  relations  among  those  groups  indicate 
a  prior  stage  of  promiscuity.  In  this  latter 
opinion  the  American  Morgan  coincides,  but  for 
a  different  reason.  Letoumeau,  at  times,  shows 
symptoms  of  believing  in  primordial  promis- 
cuity. 

The  situation  as  far  back  in  social  evolution 
as  we  have  actual  evidence  concerning  sex  re- 
lations appears  to  be  this :  Primitive  society,  as 
we  know  it,  is  characterized  by  a  pluralistic  form 
of  marriage,  polyandric  in  some  cases,  poly- 
gynic  in  others,  sometimes  both  polyandric  and 
polygynic,  with  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
monogamy. 

What  shall  be  said  of  the  long  interim  of 
probably  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  which 
stretch  beyond  our  primitive  man  to  the  original 
human  beings  .^^  Archeology  has  demonstrated 
that  there  were  still  lower  culture  stages  than 
that  possessed  by  present  primitive  men,  and 
it  has  discovered  two  or  more  lower  levels  of  men 


Origin  of  Marriage 


in  physical  type.  It  is  apparent  that  Wester- 
marck's  evidence  does  not  touch  this  period,  save 
in  so  far  as  his  generaHzations  from  animal  life 
may  obtain.  But  as  we  saw,  the  evidence  as  to 
what  actually  the  sex  relations  among  apes  are 
IS  too  meager  to  establish  anything  to  a  cer- 
tainty. Further,  we  cannot  know  what  effect 
developing  reason  and  the  entrance  of  other 
factors  would  have  on  marital  relations  in  the 
subsequent  beings. 

Let  us  consider  the  various  possibilities  and 
factors  in  the  situation.  First,  the  bearing  of 
the  idea  of  continuity.  We  might  expect  an  evo- 
lution toward  some  kind  of  marriage,  should  we 
follow  the  analogy  of  the  development  of  other 
social  institutions  and  of  mental  and  bodily 
structures.  We  find  animal  bodily  structures  far 
more  similar  than  dis-similar  to  those  of  man. 
Although  but  few  of  the  "missing  links"  have 
been  discovered,  we  hold  to  continuity  of  physi- 
cal forms.  Similarly  animals  possess  most  of 
man's  instincts,  the  special  sensory  apparatus, 
sensations,  perceptions,  and  a  degree  of  general- 
izing and  reasoning  power.  We  believe  in  a 
mental  continuity.  Animals  have  a  language  of 
signs  and  sounds.  Primitive  man  possesses  these 
in  a  higher  degree  of  development.  Linguistic 
continuity  is  most  probable.     If  we  find  some 


44  The  Family  and  Society 

beginnings  of  marriage  among  the  animals  which 
most  approximate  man  it  would  be  natural  to 
suppose  that  further  evolution  has  occurred  dur- 
ing the  development  of  the  series.  Great  marital 
development  during  that  interim  should  not  be 
expected,  however,  because  the  changes,  at  that 
stage  of  evolution,  in  relations  between  individ- 
uals was  necessarily  slow,  as  we  know  from  a 
study  of  social  phenomena  among  both  animals 
and  men.  In  fact  it  is  conceivable  that  condi- 
tions arose  which  blocked  actual  progress  and 
even  compelled  regression.  For  example,  the 
rational  factor  grew  stronger.  What  would  be 
its  effect  on  a  marriage  that  was  based  on  in- 
stinct exclusively?  Would  it  increase  the  male's 
tendency  toward  maintaining  a  marital  horde.? 
Or  would  it  lead  the  male  in  the  direction  of  a 
solitary  life  in  which  he  could  exercise  his  cun- 
ning and  strength  in  hunting  and  fighting.'^ 

Second,  the  question  as  to  whether  apes  were 
solitary  or  gregarious  and  its  bearing  on  the 
nature  of  the  sex  relations.  Our  previous  treat- 
ment of  this  established  a  strong  probability  of 
dominant  gregariousness  and  of  polygynous 
grouping. 

Third,  infancy  is  prolonged  among  the  an- 
thropoids and  doubtless  still  more  prolonged 
among  the  first  men.     This  prolongation  of  in- 


Origin  of  Marriage  45 

fancy  imposes  a  prolongation  of  parental  care. 
In  itself,  however,  it  does  not  pronounce  that 
this  increased  attention  is  paternal  in  part. 
Other  considerations  are  required  to  decide  that. 
A  smaller  number  of  offspring  and  an  increase 
of  their  dependence  accompanies  the  prolonga- 
tion of  infancy,  making  it  probable  that  the 
mother  would  at  times  be  the  center  of  a  group 
of  growing  children.  The  force  of  this  con- 
dition is  in  the  direction  of  a  family,  or  horde, 
life. 

Fourth,  evolution  from  the  animal  to  the  hu- 
man stage  brings  not  only  the  erect  attitude 
of  body  but  its  more  important  accompaniment, 
a  heightened  and  enlarged  psychical  life.  It  is 
impossible  to  say  what  the  exact  effects  of  this 
enlarged  psychical  life  would  be  on  sex  relations, 
but  certain  results  are  probable.  The  growth 
of  rational  power  made  early  man  superior  to 
the  animals.  He  could  operate  against  them, 
lay  snares  and  traps  for  them,  use  weapons  to 
overcome  them.  This  undoubtedly  had  much  to 
do  with  changing  early  man  or  his  near  ancestors 
from  a  frugivorous  to  a  carnivorous  diet.  In 
this  connection  woman  would  be  rendered  more 
dependent.  So  long  as  she  could  forage  for 
food  she  could  support  herself  and  her  depend- 
ent offspring.     But  where  the  inhabitants  of  a 


46  The  Family  and  Society 

region  became  numerous  and  the  larger  part  of 
the  food  had  to  be  obtained  by  the  chase,  she 
was  incapacitated  for  this  during  the  period  of 
rearing  and  nursing  the  child.  Had  not  males 
become  capable  of  developing  a  somewhat  perma- 
nent attachment  for  the  female  and  offspring 
she  and  her  children  in  many  cases  would  perish. 
The  only  alternative  to  this  would  be  the  ex- 
istence of  a  relatively  large  communal  group  of 
which  the  mother  constituted  a  member  and  re- 
ceived her  support  at  critical  times.  But  this 
also  supposes  a  group  attachment  on  the  part 
of  the  males,  an  outcome  in  turn  of  the  larger 
psychical  nature. 

A  strengthening  of  the  psychical  attribute 
of  jealousy  in  the  males  might  be  conceived 
to  take  place  with  evolution.  Since  the  time  of 
Darwin  the  "  law  of  battle  "  has  been  recognized 
as  obtaining  among  the  males  of  the  more  highly 
developed  animals.  Fighting  for  females  at 
pairing  time  quite  generally  obtains.  The  man- 
like apes  enter  into  conflict  for  the  mastery  of 
females.  Psychologically  it  is  true  that  dur- 
ing the  process  of  marital  evolution  the  emo- 
tional life  has  been  broadened  and  deepened. 
Civilized  man  not  only  experiences  more  emo- 
tions but  is  able  to  respond  to  any  one  of  them 
more  profoundly  than  undeveloped  men.     The 


Origin  of  Marriage  47 

emotional  reaction  we  call  jealousy  comes  under 
this  general  rule.  Jealousy  developed  among 
animals  with  the  evolution  of  higher  forms,  and 
it  likely  grew  apace  during  the  ascent  from  apes 
to  man.  Had  early  men  an  annual  pairing  sea- 
son, as  Westermarck  believes,  this  jealousy  would 
operate  only  on  those  occasions,  as  in  the  case 
of  animals.  Did  men  then  live  in  isolation,  males 
and  females  would  separate  immediately  after 
pairing,  for  the  interim  between  seasons  would 
be  too  long  for  sex  jealousy  to  span.  Only 
the  disappearance  of  the  pairing  season,  the  es- 
tablishment of  ties  between  the  male  and  off- 
spring, or  the  discovery  of  cooperative  advan- 
tages of  group  life  could  obviate  the  tendency 
to  fall  apart.  Separation  of  sexes  would  spell 
promiscuity.  Segregation  would  mean  some  kind 
of  marriage. 

Fifth,  Westermarck  supposes  that  close  in- 
breeding and  the  "horror  of  incest"  which  arose 
consequent  to  it  in  primitive  times  were  prohib- 
itive of  promiscuity.  He  offers  a  wide  array  of 
evidence  to  show  that  primitive  people  generally 
have  a  horror  of  incest.  There  are  exceptions, 
and  some  of  his  evidence  is  contradicted  by  com- 
petent observers.  The  sexual  saturnalias  that 
primitive  men  periodically  indulged  in  without 
respect  to  kinship  ties  creates  a  presumption  as 


48  The  Family  and  Society 

to  its  weakness.  That  it  is  an  instinct  which 
became  established  early  in  the  history  of  man 
by  natural  selection,  as  he  maintains,  does  not 
appear  to  be  true.  It  would  not  be  necessary, 
save  on  the  narrow  pairing  basis  on  which  he  in- 
sists and  the  existence  of  which  is  questionable. 
Moreover,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  an  instinct, 
as  many  modern  experiences  show.  Not  only 
have  near  relatives  often  married  consciously, 
but  at  times  unconsciously  of  the  nearness  of 
kinship  ties.  Incest  is  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  Chicago  Vice  Commission  report  gives  start- 
^  ling  facts  of  its  frequency  in  producing  vice. 
These  things  could  not  occur  were  there  a  pro- 
hibitive instinct.  Like  many  other  ideas,  even 
the  idea  of  deity,  incest  is  an  idea  that  is  im- 
bedded in  the  family  stock  of  ideas  and  impressed 
on  the  minds  of  the  young  by  the  parental  gen- 
eration. Originally  it  may  have  grown  out  of 
religious  tabus,  reinforced  by  the  fact  that  fa- 
miliar sexual  associates  possess  a  minimum  of 
sex  attraction. 

Whatever  the  exact  nature  of  the  origin  of 
the  inhibitory  idea  against  incest  this  statement 
of  Letoumeau's  appears  to  represent  the  truth: 
"It  is  quite  certain  .  .  .  that  during  the  first 
ages  of  the  evolution  of  societies  the  ties  of  kin- 
ship, even  those  we  are  accustomed  to  regard  as 


Origin  of  Marriage  49 

sacred  and  respect  for  which  seem  to  be  incarnate 
in  us,  have  not  been  any  impediment  to  sexual 
unions.  Like  the  sentiment  of  modesty,  the 
horror  of  incest  has  only  been  engraved  on  the 
human  conscience  with  great  difficulty  and  by 
long  culture.  Samples  of  this  kind  are  un- 
known to  the  animals,  and  before  they  could 
arise  in  the  human  brain  it  was  first  necessary 
that  the  family  should  be  constituted,  and  then 
that  from  some  motive  or  other  the  custom  of 
exogamous  marriage  should  be  adopted." 

The  statement  that  the  effects  of  close  in- 
breeding would  have  a  prohibitive  force  on  pro- 
miscuity deserves  more  consideration  than  we 
can  give.  A  review  of  the  evidences  as  to  the 
exact  effects  of  breeding  in  and  in  would  require 
many  pages.  Westermarck's  extensive  consid- 
eration of  the  facts  gleaned  from  many  inves- 
tigators serves  to  show  that  the  poorer  strength 
and  fertility  of  the  offspring  of  closely  related 
pairs  are  likely  to  show  deterioration,  though  the 
effects  are  not  uniform.  Consequently,  in  the 
development  of  mankind,  natural  selection  oper- 
ated toward  eliminating  those  groups  of  men 
who  in-breed  and  the  selecting  of  those  which 
practiced  exogamy,  with  the  result  that  even- 
tually a  "  powerful  instinct "  or  aversion  to  mar- 
riage with  relatives  was  established. 


50  The  Family  and  Society 

J.  Arthur  Thomson,  in  his  Heredity,  throws 
some  doubt  on  such  a  hard  and  fast  conclusion. 
He  quotes  G.  H.  Darwin  as  saying:  "Biolog- 
ically it  seems  certain  that  close  interbreeding 
can  go  far  without  affecting  physique,  and  that 
it  is  useful  in  fixing  character."  Thomson  says : 
"The  idea  that  there  can  be  any  objection  to 
the  marriage  of  two  healthy  cousins  who  happen 
to  fall  in  love  is  preposterous."  He  gives  in- 
stances of  frequent  inbreeding  in  the  production 
of  superior  stocks  of  cattle.  However,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  Thomson  is  an  advocate 
of  close  inbreeding.  Moreover,  some  of  the  his- 
torical examples  of  human  inbreeding  without 
serious  results  which  he  cites  had  previously  been 
fairly  disposed  of  by  Westermarck.  We  may 
fairly  conclude,  I  think,  that  continuous  promis- 
cuity practiced  within  a  small  group  of  primi- 
tive men  would  have  caused  deterioration  of  the 
stock,  which  in  contact  with  the  cross-breeding 
stocks,  would  ultimately  disappear.* 

Sixth,  the  principle  of  parallelism  may  have 
some  application    to    the    original  human  sex- 

*0n  Mendelian  principles  the  reason  why  outbreeding 
is  better  than  inbreeding  is  that  it  scatters  and  hence 
covers  defects  instead  of  combining  and  heightening 
them  as  is  done  in  inbreeding  (see  Walter,  Genetics, 
pp.  242-3). 


Origin  of  Marriage  51 

relation.  As  obtaining  in  other  primitive  mat- 
ters it  means  that  because  of  men's  unitary 
origin  they  possess  similar  physical  and  mental 
characteristics.  Consequently,  when  migrations 
had  taken  place  and  race  stocks  had  been  estab- 
lished in  widely  separated  regions,  similar  ar- 
tifacts and  institutions  appeared.  The  stone 
implements  of  Europe  and  America  resemble 
each  other  in  form,  though  there  are  differences 
of  detail.  Magic  and  tabus  have  occurred  every- 
where, though  the  particulars  of  their  practice 
varied  from  place  to  place.  Therefore  we  might 
expect  that  the  similar  sex  instinct  would  work' 
out  some  form  of  marriage,  but  that  the  institu- 
tion would  exhibit  itself  differently  in  various 
regions.  While  promiscuity  may  have  occurred 
in  places,  the  conflict  of  group  with  group,  and 
the  battles  of  males  for  leadership  in  groups  of 
females,  as  well  as  the  premium  which  natural 
selection  placed  on  out-breeding  stocks,  militated 
against  the  establishment  of  a  universal  stage  of 
sexual  promiscuity. 

3,  The  Belief  in  Promiscuity 

How,  then,  did  the  belief  in  promiscuity  as 
an  original  factor  in  the  history  of  the  family 
arise  if  it  has  never  been  general?  Several  dif- 
ferent theories  have  been  invented  to  substantiate 


52  The  Family  and  Society 

promiscuity,  but  the  practices  of  present  primi- 
tive men  have  chiefly  given  rise  to  the  belief. 
Temporary  unions,  marriages  for  a  term,  partial 
marriages  which  are  pecuniary  transactions  and 
good  for  only  certain  days  of  the  week,  corro- 
borees  and  sexual  saturnalia  in  which  restraints 
are  abandoned  and  free  license  prevails,  wife 
lending  so  widely  practiced,  the  result  of 
viewing  the  female  as  property  of  the  male, 
and  group  marriages,  are  some  of  the  facts  which 
have  impressed  travelers  and  led  them  to  conclude 
that  such  peoples  are  without  marital  institu- 
tions. The  group  marriage  which  obtains  among 
certain  tribes  of  Australia,  in  which  a  man  has 
a  first  wife  and  other  secondary  wives,  and  the 
wife  has  a  chief  husband  and  several  potential 
husbands,  all  of  which  is  regulated  by  tribal 
custom,  until  understood,  presented  the  appear- 
ance of  promiscuity.  But  carefully  conducted 
investigations  among  primitive  peoples  have 
uniformly  shown  that  some  form  of  marital  reg- 
ulation obtains,  although  considerable  license 
may  exist.  Westermarck  is  convinced,  however, 
that  a  lack  of  chastity  and  the  practice  of  license 
did  not  obtain  original^,  but  has  been  introduced 
by  the  presence  and  contact  of  civilized  men. 

Marriage,  like  other  institutions  in  the  be- 
ginning, was   stumbled  into  by  primitive  men. 


^B 


Origin  of  Marriage  53 


As  Letourneau  safely  says :  "  Every  possible 
experiment,  compatible  with  the  duration  of  sav- 
age or  barbarous  societies,  has  been  tried,  or  is 
still  practiced,  amongst  various  races."  Society 
conducted  an  experiment  as  to  how  to  Incubate 
new  social  members  successfully.  The  ancient 
animal  method  would  not  suffice  for  the  more 
complicated  life.  The  lengthened  infancy  and 
dependence  of  the  young  constituted  nature's 
suggestion  that  a  parental  laboratory  was  re- 
quired. The  new  economic  requirements  in  rela- 
tion to  a  changed  food  supply  demanded  a  de- 
pendence of  women  at  critical  times,  and  division 
of  labor  between  males  and  females  in  group 
matters.  A  heightening  psychical  ability  en- 
larged the  social  capacity  of  the  male  and  made 
him  more  available  for  family  purposes.  The 
operation  of  natural  selection  in  weeding  out 
the  groups  which  practiced  close  inbreeding  still 
further  militated  against  promiscuity  and  ad- 
vanced the  chances  of  the  family.  All  of  these 
factors  organized  about  that  of  sexual  instinct, 
so  far  as  we  are  able  to  approximate,  account 
for  the  origin  of  human  marriage. 


CHAPTER   III 

The  Evolution  of  the  Family 

UPON  an  evolutionary  basis  it  is  quite  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  family  grew  out  of  a 
primal  stage  of  promiscuity,  and  that  it  ascended 
through  successive  stages  of  polygyny,  poly- 
andry, and  monogamy  to  its  present  status. 
Theoretically  this  would  constitute  a  perfect  and 
logical  scheme.  Unfortunately  for  the  theory 
the  facts  bearing  on  the  development  of  the  do- 
mestic institutions  do  not  permit  us  to  follow 
any  such  easy  path.  The  course  of  the  family 
has  been  tortuous,  and  the  form  which  it  has 
taken  at  any  given  time  and  place  has  evidently 
been  determined  by  a  great  many  circumstances. 
The  family,  like  ( ther  institutions,  has  had  to  ad- 
just itself  to  varied  conditions,  and  what  it  is 
at  any  point  of  time  has  been  determined  by  the 
forces  and  conditions  at  work  in  the  society  of 
the  period.  It  is  an  institution  which  has  been 
subj  ected  to  the  vicissitudes  of  ignorance,  war, 
economic  changes,  religious  and  political  ideas 
and  factors,  and  the  passions  and  ideals  of  hu- 
man beings.  It  has  always  been  a  product  of 
54 


Evolution  of  the  Family  55 

the  factors  of  its  age.  Being  a  man-made  or  a 
society-made  affair,  it  is  subject  to  improvement 
and  is  an  object  with  which  the  best  intelligence 
and  idealism  of  the  age  may  well  busy  them- 
selves. 

1.  Types  of  Families 

The  following  forms  of  marriage  have  been 
developed  in  the  course  of  human  history: 
Monogamy,  or  the  pairing  of  one  man  with  one 
woman  for  more  than  a  temporary  lapse  of 
time.  Polygyny,  the  state  of  marriage  in  which 
one  man  possesses  two  or  more  wives  or  concu- 
bines. Polyandry,  the  form  of  marriage  in  which 
one  woman  is  held  as  common  wife  by  two  or 
more  men.  Group  marriage,  two  or  more  forms 
of  which  exist,  one  in  which  several  brothers 
are  married  to  several  sisters,  all  the  brothers 
being  the  husbands  of  all  the  sisters,  and  all  the 
sisters  wives  of  all  the  brothers;  the  other  in 
which  either  all  the  husbands  may  be  brothers, 
or  all  the  wives  may  be  sisters.  Besides  the  above 
kinds  of  marriage,  there  are  time  and  trial  mar- 
riages. These  are  not  exclusive  of  the  forms 
monogamy,  polygyny,  and  polyandry,  but  may 
occur  with  either  form.  Thus,  it  may  be  a 
custom  among  a  primitive  people  that  a  man  and 
woman  shall  live  together  as  man  and  wife  for 


56  The  Family  an4  Society 

a  fixed  time,  then  separate;  or  that  they  may 
be  husband  or  wife  only  on  certain  days  of  the 
week,  sustaining  to  others  those  relationships 
on  the  other  days.  This  is  time  or  term  mar- 
riage, and  may  take  place  under  a  monogamous 
or  polygynous  system.  Or  it  may  be  the  cus- 
tom that  fertility  is  regarded  as  the  test  of  a 
valid  marriage.  In  this  case  the  pair  separate 
as  man  and  wife  in  case  children  do  not  result 
at  the  end  of  a  year  or  a  few  years.  This  form 
may  also  operate  in  the  case  of  either  polygyny 
or  monogamy;  possibly  also  in  that  of  poly- 
andry. Time  and  trial  marriages  are  what  have 
been  termed  lax  or  brittle  monogamy.  That  is, 
they  are  more  likely  to  be  the  accompaniment 
of  monogamy  and  enable  it  to  pass  as  an  easy 
or  bearable  substitute  for  polygyny. 

2,  Occurrence  of  the  Forms  of  the  Family 

The  prevalence  of  the  forms  of  the  family 
may  be  considered  relative  to  time,  or  the  vari- 
ous stages  of  social  evolution,  and  at  any  given 
time,  especially  the  present.  The  present  dis- 
tribution will  receive  treatment  first. 

One  form  of  group  marriage,  'punaluan,  for- 
merly existed  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  is 
found  among  the  Todas  of  India  today.     This 


Evolution  of  the  Family  57 

IS  the  marriage  of  a  group  of  brothers  to  a 
group  of  sisters,  each  sister  being  the  wife  of 
all  the  brothers,  and  each  brother  the  husband 
of  all  the  sisters.  The  larger  form  of  group 
marriage  is  to  be  found  among  the  aborigines 
of  Australia.  In  some  of  the  tribes,  men  from 
certain  groups  of  kinsmen  may  marry  only  with 
women  from  certain  other  kinship  groups.  The- 
oretically, each  man  is  the  husband  of  all  the 
women  and  each  woman  the  wife  of  all  the  men 
of  the  marriageable  groups.  In  reality,  each  man 
has  what  may  be  called  a  first  or  real  wife  with 
whom  he  permanently  abides.  The  other  women 
are  potential  wives  with  whom  he  may  cohabit 
under  certain  circumstances.  The  same  situation 
is  true  for  the  women. 

Polygyny  has  been  and  is  a  widespread  form 
of  marriage.  It  flourishes  over  large  portions 
of  native  Africa,  was  practiced  by  many  of  the 
native  tribes  of  America,  obtains  generally 
among  all  Mohammedan  peoples,  among  Jews 
of  Mohammedan  countries,  exists  in  various 
islands  of  Oceania,  and  is  widespread  among 
many  peoples  of  Asia.  It  is  impossible  to  state 
what  portion  of  the  human  race  practices 
polygyny,  both  because  accurate  statistics  of 
populations  of  all  its  votaries  does  not  exist, 
and  because  even  where  it  is  sanctioned  by  a 


58  The  Family  and  Society 

people  it  is  in  most  cases  impossible  that  more 
than  a  small  part  of  the  male  population  is  able 
to  support  more  than  one  wife.  It  is  general 
among  certain  West  African  negro  tribes,  peo- 
ples living  in  what  Dowd  calls  the  banana  zone. 
Women  are  more  numerous  than  men  and  little 
capital  is  required  to  undertake  the  initial  ex- 
penses of  housekeeping.  The  women  perform 
the  labor,  hence  they  are  self-supporting. 
Scarcity  of  women  and  the  expense  attached 
to  maintaining  a  number  of  wives  militate 
against  the  universality  of  the  institution  even 
where  it  is  sanctioned  by  custom.  In  India  95 
per  cent  of  the  Mohammedan  population  are 
monogamous  by  necessity  or  conviction,  while 
in  Persia  but  S  per  cent  practice  polygyny. 
In  Africa,  in  ascending  through  the  successively 
higher  economic  zones,  polygyny  decreases  by 
reason  of  the  greater  equality  between  the  num- 
bers of  the  sexes,  the  growing  cost  of  domestic 
establishments,  the  increasing  independence  of 
women,  and  the  heightened  ideals  of  life. 

Polyandry  is  relatively  rare.  It  is  confined 
to  a  few  tribes  and  peoples  of  North  America, 
a  smaller  number  in  South  Africa,  certain  islands 
and  peoples  of  Oceania,  a  few  peoples  of  Africa 
and  Madagascar,  and  quite  a  large  number  of 
peoples  of  Eastern    and    South  Eastern  Asia. 


Evolution  of  the  Family  59 

Tibet  IS  the  great  home  of  polyandry.  In  most 
cases  of  polyandry  the  husbands  are  brothers. 
It  is  a  universal  practice  among  but  a  few  peo- 
ples. It  commonly  occurs  along  with  other  forms 
of  marriage  and  may  be  practiced  by  all  classes 
of  persons.  Among'^the  Khasias  of  Asia  it 
prevails  among  the  poor  and  is  said  to  be  used 
to  facilitate  divorce.  In  other  places  it  is  prac- 
ticed by  the  wealthy. 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said  that  at 
the  present  time  monogamy  constitutes  the  domi- 
nant form  of  marriage,  at  least  conventionally. 
It  is  even  possible  that  it  is  rarer  than  it  was  in 
earlier  days  of  mankind,  and  high  authorities 
contend  that  immorality  and  sex-irregularity  are 
more  widespread  among  mankind  now  than  ever 
before.  As  in  various  other  matters  relative  to 
marriage  the  scientific  position  is  to  refrain  from 
dogmatism. 

When  we  seek  to  establish  the  occurrence  of 
the  various  forms  of  marriage  along  with  definite 
stages  in  social  evolution  the  task  is  found  to  be 
fairly  difficult.  Spencer  gave  his  attentive 
genius  to  the  question.  To  his  first  question: 
"Do  societies  of  different  degrees  of  composi- 
tion habitually  present  different  forms  of  domes- 
tic arrangement?"  he  replied  that  no  definite 
relationship  could  be  traced  because  monogamy, 


60  The  Family  and  Society 

polygyny,  and  polyandry  occur  in  practically 
every  stage  of  social  composition  from  the  low- 
est to  the  highest.  Hov/ever,  in  this  connection 
one  form  of  relation  may  be  alleged.  "  Forma- 
tion of  compound  groups,  implying  greater  co- 
ordination and  the  strengthening  of  restraints, 
implies  more  settled  arrangements,  public  and 
private.  Grov/th  of  custom  into  law,  which 
goes  along  with  an  extending  governmental  or- 
ganization holding  larger  masses  together,  af- 
fects the  domestic  relations  along  with  the  polit- 
ical relations;  and  thus  renders  the  family  ar- 
rangements, be  they  polyandric,  polygynic,  or 
monogamic,  more  definite." 

To  his  other  question:  "Are  different  forms 
of  domestic  arrangement  associated  with  the  mili- 
tant system  of  organization  and  the  industrial 
system  of  organization  .^^ "  he  affirmed  that  a 
general  connection  could  be  made  out.  But  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  predominant  militancy 
"is  not  so  much  shown  by  armies  and  the  con- 
quests they  achieve,  as  by  the  constancy  of  their 
predatory  activities.  The  contrast  between  mili- 
tant and  industrial,  is  properly  between  a  state 
in  which  life  is  occupied  in  conflict  with  other 
beings,  brute  and  human,  and  a  state  in  which 
life  is  occupied  in  peaceful  labor  —  energies  spent 
in  destruction  instead  of  energies  spent  in  produc- 


Evolution  of  the  Family  61 

tion.  So  conceiving  militancy,  we  find  polyg- 
yny to  be  its  habitual  accompaniment."  Several 
lines  of  evidence  of  this  exist.  First,  the  co- 
existence of  industrial  development  and  monog- 
amy among  certain  peoples,  such  as  the  natives 
of  Port  Dory,  New  Guinea,  the  Land  Dyaks, 
certain  hill  tribes  of  India,  the  Lepachs,  and 
the  Iroquois  and  Pueblos  of  North  America. 
Second,  among  primitive  settled  tribes,  as  in  the 
case  of  those  just  mentioned,  the  development 
of  chief  and  chiefly  power  is  small,  and  the  mili- 
tancy is  not  great.  Third,  "  the  polygyny  which 
prevails  in  simply  predatory  tribes,  persists  in 
aggregates  of  them  welded  together  by  war  into 
small  nations  under  established  rulers;  and  in 
these  frequently  acquires  large  extensions." 
Thus,  polygyny  was  marked  among  the  militant 
ruling  classes  of  the  Fijians,  of  the  peoples  living 
in  Ashanti  and  Dahomey  in  Africa,  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  Mexicans,  Chibchas,  and  Nicaraguans 
of  America,  and  the  old  despotisms  of  the  East. 
Fourth,  "  allied  with  this  evidence  is  the  evidence 
that  in  a  simple  tribe  all  the  men  of  which  are 
warriors,  polygyny  is  generally  diff*used;  but 
in  a  society  compounded  of  such  tribes,  polyg- 
yny continues  to  characterize  the  militant  part, 
while  monogamy  begins  to  characterize  the  in- 
dustrial   part."       Fifth,    a    direct    connection 


62  The  Family  and  Society 

between  militancy  and  polygyny  is  seen  in  the 
practice  of  capturing  women  as  trophies  of  war 
by  warriors  and  making  them  additional  wives 
and  concubines.  Further,  incessant  war  leaves 
a  surplus  of  women  because  the  men  fall  in 
battle.  Polygynous  peoples  have  the  advantage 
in  such  warfare  of  being  able  more  rapidly  to 
reproduce  warriors.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
decrease  of  war  and  increase  of  industry  equal- 
ize the  numbers  of  the  sexes  and  because  every 
man  demands  a  wife,  operate  against  polygyny. 
Sixth,  because  polygyny  means  domestic  despot- 
ism and  monogamy  increases  voluntary  coopera- 
tion in  the  family,  the  former  is  congruous  with 
a  militant  social  system  while  the  latter  naturally 
harmonizes  with  the  industrial  form  of  society. 
(Herbert  Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology,  Part 
III,  Chapter  9.) 

3.  Kinship  Systems 

Closely  connected  with  marriage  has  gone  the 
method  of  tracing  descent.  L.  H.  Morgan,  the 
American  ethnologist,  traced  several  systems 
of  kinship.  But  for  our  purposes  two  gen- 
eral systems  may  be  spoken  of  —  the  metro- 
nymic or  maternal  system,  and  the  patronymic 
or  paternal  system.  The  metronymic  system  pre- 
vailed earliest  in  human  society,  and  seems  to  have 


Evolution  of  the  Family  63 

been  quite  or  almost  a  general  stage  through 
which  humanity  passed.  In  this  system  the  chil- 
dren belong  to  the  clan  of  the  mother,  are  fos- 
tered and  cared  for  by  it,  and  bear  the  name  of 
the  maternal  group.  The  father  dwells  with  the 
maternal  group  but  his  name  is  not  taken  by  the 
child.  Further,  the  mother's  kinsmen  appear  to 
exercise  the  greater  authority  over  the  children. 
Some  investigators  have  believed  that  this  sys- 
tem arose  during  a  system  of  promiscuity,  since 
under  such  a  regime  it  would  be  impossible  to 
identify  the  father  of  a  child,  whereas  the  iden- 
tity of  the  mother  is  always  apparent.  But  as 
we  have  seen,  promiscuity  likely  has  never  been 
general  and  it  is  necessary  to  explain  the  origin 
of  the  kinship  method  otherwise.  It  is  obvious 
that  animals  know  nothing  of  the  paternal  rela- 
tionship. It  is  most  probable  that  the  earliest 
men  know  nothing  of  it.  In  fact,  a  recent  inves- 
tigator asserts  that  among  certain  primitive  peo- 
ples of  the  present  time  the  part  the  father  plays 
in  fertilization  is  not  known.  The  appearance 
of  the  child  is  regarded  as  a  matter  of  magic  or 
religion.  Under  such  conditions  the  father  could 
lay  no  claim  to  a  child  and  it  would  follow  that  it 
would  bear  the  mother's  name.  Moreover,  since 
the  woman,  because  of  her  child  bearing  func- 


64  The  Family  and  Society 

tion,  is  more  sedentary,  more  a  fixture  in  camp 
and  locality  than  man,  the  offspring  in  primitive 
times  lived  with  the  mother  and  the  community 
life  formed  about  her.  It  is  natural  and  logical 
that  the  method  of  tracing  lineage  should  center 
in  her. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  existence  of  the 
maternal  system  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  the 
supremacy  of  woman  in  the  social  group. 
Westermarck  has  compiled  data  to  show  that 
among  primitive  peoples  living  now,  the  paternal 
system  is  quite  or  even  more  general  than  the 
maternal.  Even  if  this  does  not  prove  that  the 
maternal  system  was  never  general,  which  he 
thinks  it  does  prove,  it  involves  much  evidence 
that  matriarchy  —  that  is  government  and  au- 
thority by  women  —  was  never  universal.  It  is 
theoretically  easy  to  assume  that  since  the  earli- 
est groups  probably  formed  about  woman,  she 
therefore  exercised  control  of  group  matters. 
But  it  is  pointed  out  that  even  where  the  ma- 
ternal system  prevails  she  does  not  generally 
exercise  any  great  authority.  The  cases  of 
large  control  by  women  as  among  the  Iroquois, 
Zuni  Indians,   etc.,   are   rather   exceptional. 

The  paternal  system  is  so  called  because  of 
the  method  of  naming  children  after  the  father 
and  of  tracing  descent  through  the  main  line.    It 


Evolution  of  the  Family  65 

is  the  universal  usage  among  civilized  peoples 
and,  as  has  been  said,  obtains  among  the  larger 
number  of  present  primitive  men.  It  not  only 
involves  the  transfer  of  names  through  the  male 
line  but  also  that  of  property.  Moreover,  it  in- 
volves the  dominance  of  man  over  the  wives  and 
children,  and  this  sometimes  in  an  exceedingly 
harsh  manner  and  to  a  very  extreme  degree. 
The  patriarchy  was  the  culmination  of  it  in  its 
exaggerated  form.  This  is  well  pictured  in  the 
Old  Testament  accounts  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  Sir  Henry  Maine  wrongly  believed 
it  was  the  original  form  of  human  marriage. 

The  causes  which  operated  to  bring  about 
the  revolutionary  transformation  from  the  ma- 
ternal order  to  the  paternal,  wherever  the  change 
has  taken  place,  are  numerous.  Wife  capture, 
which  tore  the  woman  away  from  her  kindred 
group  and  made  her  a  dependent  in  the  group  of 
the  man,  had  a  decisive  effect  in  that  direction. 
War,  which  by  means  of  military  organization 
magnified  the  power  of  the  male  and  also  brought 
him  many  human  chattels  in  the  shape  of  women, 
would  but  build  up  a  system  of  male  inheritance. 
Religion  contributed  its  part  by  elevating  the 
male  line  through  its  development  of  ancestor 
worship,  women  being  too  little  heroic  and  spec- 
tacular to  serve  as  deities.     Also  great  would  be 


66  The  Family  and  Society 

the  influence  of  the  necessity  imposed  on  the 
family  group  of  participating  in  distant  hunt- 
ing expeditions,  of  going  far  from  home  for 
water  for  the  herds,  and  most  of  all  of  passing 
from  the  hunting  to  the  pastoral  stage  of  life. 
The  latter  in  particular  imposed  a  permanent 
separation  of  women  from  their  blood  group  and 
weakened  their  power. 

^.  Reasons  for  Various  Forms  of  the  Family 

To  illustrate  the  force  which  social  conditions 
exercise  on  domestic  institutions  it  may  be  well 
to  mention  the  causes  which  operated  to  produce 
the  chief  forms  of  the  family.  And  in  this 
undertaking  only  the  larger  causal  conditions 
can  be  noticed. 

Relative  to  the  least  important  of  the  three 
great  forms  of  marriage,  polyandry,  many  dif- 
ferent causes  have  been  assigned.  No  special 
kind  of  geographical  environment  can  account 
for  it,  since  it  obtains  under  most  diverse  cir- 
cumstances. Economic  conditions  may  be  con- 
tributive  in  that  the  cost  of  securing  and  keeping 
a  wife  in  naturally  poor  countries  may  be  bur- 
densome. But  these  are  likely  to  operate  only 
after  the  custom  is  once  established.  Moreover, 
it  is  practiced  by  the  wealthy  in  some  places. 
Excess  in  the  number  of  males  because  of  female 


Evolution  of  the  Family  6T 

infanticide,  or  excess  of  male  births,  may  play 
a  minor  part,  though,  as  Spencer  remarks,  it  is 
practiced  in  Tahiti,  where  the  sexes  are  probably 
equal.  In  Kunwar  it  is  said  to  be  assigned  to 
the  desire  to  keep  the  patrimony  from  being 
distributed  among  a  number  of  brothers.  To 
guard  the  woman  against  danger  and  difficulty 
during  the  absence  of  her  husband,  is  an  assigned 
cause  of  minor  value.  The  Shinalese  ascribe  it 
to  the  desire  to  protect  the  rice  fields  during 
forced  attendance  of  the  people  on  the  king. 
Fraternal  affection  on  the  part  of  the  elder 
brother  operating  to  give  the  younger  brothers 
the  privilege  of  a  wife  has  received  mention. 
Spencer  rejects  scarcity  of  women  and  poverty 
as  sufficient  causes  and  regards  polyandry  "as 
one  of  the  kinds  of  marital  relations  emerging 
from  the  primitive  unregulated  state;  and  one 
which  has  survived  when  competing  kinds,  not 
favored  by  the  conditions,  have  failed  to 
extinguish  it." 

While  its  causes  may  remain  in  doubt,  polyan- 
dry is  a  passing  system.  An  advance  in  indus- 
trial life  appears  to  militate  against  it.  In  its 
stronghold,  Tibet,  the  introduction  of  commerce 
with  the  consequent  accumulation  of  wealth  leads 
to  separate  establishments  on  the  part  of  the 
several  members  of  the  household.     Further  it 


# 


68  The  Family  and  Society 

tends  to  be  modified  in  the  direction  of 
monogamy,  since  in  the  case  of  brother  hus- 
bands the  elder  brother  is  the  chief  or  real 
husband,  the  younger  brothers  being  regarded 
as  secondary  husbands  and  are  frequently  the 
servants  of  the  elder  brother.  In  other  cases  one 
husband  is  accounted  the  real  and  the  others  are 
secondary  husbands,  even  servants.  It  is  but  a 
step  from  this  conception  to  a  system  in  which 
there  is  but  a  single  husband.  This  principle 
is  essentially  as  that  which  operates  to  under- 
mine polygyny. 

The  reasons  assigned  for  the  occurrence  of 
polygyny  are  more  definite.  First,  polygyny  is 
frequently  connected  with  wife  capture.  In 
Africa  many  negro  tribes  make  forays  on  neigh- 
boring peoples  to  secure  women.  These  become 
concubines  or  slaves  of  the  men.  The  reasons 
for  this  may  be  numerous.  The  economic  value 
of  women  as  labor  units  is  very  large  in  certain 
regions,  especially  in  west  central  Africa  and  on 
the  western  coast.  Also  the  ability  to  capture 
women  bestows  a  distinction  on  the  most  suc- 
cessful warrior.  The  marked  man  is  the  one 
who  has  captured  or  stolen  a  large  number  of 
women.  Hence  numerous  women  become  the 
insignia  of  rank  and  honor.  The  desire  for 
novelty     together     with    brutal     lust     operate 


Evolution  of  the  Family  69 

strongly  in  the  primitive  stage  to  promote 
capture.  ^ 

Second,  as  has  been  remarked,  the  economic 
importance  of  women  in  primitive  society  is 
great.  Women  are  easily  subordinated  in 
slavery,  or  in  a  concubinage  akin  to  it  where 
these  secondary  wives  perform  the  bulk  of  the 
labor.  Their  defenselessness  and  their  tractable 
nature  make  them  easy  prey.  Not  only  is  woman 
captured  and  enslaved  but  she  is  purchased  out- 
right for  that  end,  either  by  money  or  com- 
modities, or  by  rendering  service  for  a  term  of 
years,  as  did  Jacob.  In  New  Caledonia  chiefs 
have  from  5  to  30  wives  and  their  wealth  and 
authority  varies  with  this  ownership.  An  East- 
ern Central  African  finds  no  difficulty  in  sup- 
porting hundreds  of  wives,  since  the  more  he 
has  the  richer  he  is.  An  American  Indian  could 
be  absolved  from  the  arduousness  of  hunting 
to  support  his  family  whenever  he  could  secure 
as  many  as  five  wives. 

Third,  at  a  certain  stage  of  social  evolution  a 
man's  rank  and  authority  is  dependent  on  the  size 
of  his  family.  Not  only  is  he  rated  by  the  number 
of  his  wives  but  by  that  of  his  children.  More- 
over, his  only  friends  are  those  of  his  family, 
and  his  safety  and  fighting  power  are  determined 
by  the  size  of  his  family  group.     Further,  the 


/ 


70  The  Family  and  Society 

early  marriage  and  hard  labor  of  the  women 
impose  small  number  of  births  per  woman.  The 
mortality  of  children  also  reduces  their  number. 
Hence  the  desire  for  many  children  tends  to 
promote  polygyny. 

Fourth,  monogamy  imposes  continence  on  a 
man  during  certain  periods  of  time,  namely,  dur- 
ing each  month,  and  the  period  of  pregnancy. 
During  the  latter  period  it  is  especially  enforced 
among  many  primitive  folk.  Continence  may  be 
compulsory  also  even  until  the  weaning  of  the 
child,  which  takes  place  late  in  the  child's  life 
where  people  live  on  rough  foods.  The  grounds 
for  these  prohibitions  may  be  either  hygienic, 
or  religious,  in  the  latter  case  disease  being 
ascribed  to  evil  spirits.  Escape  from  the  state 
of  continence  is  secured  by  the  multiplication 
of  wives. 

Fifth,  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  polygyny 
exists  in  the  attractive  power  of  youth  and  beauty 
upon  men.  Women  age  much  younger  than 
men,  especially  in  primitive  conditions  when  they 
marry  and  become  mothers  as  early  as  twelve  or 
fourteen,  perform  the  hardest  of  labor,  and 
where  suckling  the  child  extends  over  long 
periods.  Early  intercourse  with  the  other  sex 
is  assigned  as  an  additional  cause  of  premature 
aging. 


Evolution  of  the  Family  71 

Sixth,  when  once  the  custom  of  polygyny  is 
established  and  the  rich  and  powerful  practice 
it  religion  throws  about  it  its  powerful  sanction. 
Indeed  a  developed  religion  may  specifically  pro- 
mote it  as  in  the  cases  of  Mohammedanism  and 
Mormonism.  Usually,  however,  religion  sanc- 
tions and  promotes  what  has  come  to  be  estab- 
lished. The  Hebrew  religion  not  only  did  not 
prohibit  polygyny  but  looked  with  special  favor 
on  influential  men  who  practiced  it. 

Seventh,  the  inequality  of  the  sexes  may  pro- 
mote polygyny.  In  some  cases  the  women  are 
said  to  outnumber  the  men  several  fold.  Among 
tertain  African  peoples  women  are  five  times 
more  numerous  than  the  men,  and  nearly  the 
same  divergence  occurs  elsewhere.  However, 
these  are  exceptional  cases.  Among  some  peoples 
this  disproportion  occurs  at  the  time  of  birth, 
the  females  largely  exceeding  the  males  in  num- 
ber. These  also  are  special  cases.  Perhaps  in- 
cessant war  which  decimates  the  males  is  the 
largest  single  factor  in  producing  the  inequality. 

Certain  comparative  effects  ensue  from  the 
system  of  polygyny.  First,  on  family  matters ; 
under  polygyny,  compared  with  polyandry  and 
other  lower  forms  of  marriage,  the  kinship  rela- 
tions are  rendered  more  definite,  since  both  the 
father  and  mother  of  the  off^spring  are  known. 


72  The  Family  and  Society 

Defining  the  relations  undoubtedly  strengthens 
the  parental,  especially  the  paternal  feeling. 
This  traceable  male  descent  serves  also  to  give 
more  cohesion  to  the  group.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  likely  that  the  fraternal  feelings  are  weak- 
ened as  compared  with  polyandry.  Polygyny 
commonly  engenders  intense  jealousy  among  the 
wives  of  a  family,  and  this  in  turn  is  commu- 
nicated to  the  offspring  of  each  wife.  Thus 
the  attachment  among  the  half  brothers  and  half 
sisters  can  but  be  less  than  that  of  full  brothers 
and,  sisters. 

Second,  polygyny  has  certain  other  effects. 
One  is  connected  with  the  self-preservation  of 
society.  If  by  reason  of  war  and  other  causes 
females  outnumber  the  males  the  population  is 
enabled  to  be  duly  increased  by  rendering  all 
the  women  of  the  group  fecund  by  giving  each 
a  husband.  Again  if  in  a  militant  state  the 
prowess  of  the  men  determines  who  shall  have 
wives  and  bear  offspring,  the  stock  of  the  group 
is  improved  by  the  reproduction  of  the  superior 
stock.  The  political  stability  of  a  backward 
social  group  is  doubtless  enhanced  by  bestowing 
upon  the  males  the  power  in  society.  Religion 
in  the  form  of  ancestor  worship,  along  with  its 
sanctions,  is  built  up  by  the  establishment  of 
descent  through  the  male  line.     Polygyny  has 


^Evolution  of  the  Family  73 

a  bearing  on  the  offspring  that  is  superior  to 
other  lower  forms  of  marriage.  Where  the 
region  is  fertile  the  protection  afforded  by  a 
father  is  doubtless  conducive  to  their  welfare. 
Where  the  Levirate  obtains,  the  brother  of  the 
man  upon  his  death  adopts  his  wife  and  family, 
thus  affording  protection  and  preventing  child 
mortality.  Polygyny  may  also  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  adults  as  compared  with  lower 
forms  of  marriage.  By  attaching  all  the  females 
of  the  group  to  a  male  it  guarantees  them  food 
and  protection  which  otherwise  in  a  primitive 
state  they  would  not  have.  But  unless  separated 
in  independent  houses  the  state  of  the  wives  is 
commonly  miserable.  Jealousy  and  strife  is  in- 
cessant. Because  of  this  the  Hebrew  term  for 
wife  is  tzarot,  which  means  troubles,  adversaries, 
rivals.  Higher  sex  sentiment  is  strangled  by 
viewing  wives  as  chattels  and  through  the  very 
numerousness  of  wives.  It  is  common  that  among 
savage  polygynous  peoples  there  is  no  manifesta- 
tion of  affection  between  the  sexes.  Negroes 
have  no  term  for  love.  Old  age,  moreover, 
brings  its  own  special  penalties  under  polygyny. 
There  is  a  decided  abridgement  of  life  after  the 
reproductive  period  is  past.  Further,  for  men 
all  through  life  there  is  a  lack  of  the  comforts 
of  domestic  affection. 


74  The  Family  and  Society 

The  reasons  for  the  establishment  and  con- 
tinuance of  monogamy  are  almost  identical  with 
those  for  the  elimination  of  polygyny.  Hence 
a  consideration  of  the  former  will  largely  reveal 
the  latter.  First,  the  sexes  are  and  always 
have  been  relatively  equal  in  number.  As  we 
have  seen,  in  a  few  exceptional  cases  the  women 
are  numerically  superior.  Generally  then  injus- 
tice is  done  a  large  number  of  men  where 
polygyny  prevails  and  monogamy  is  the  natural 
remedy  for  that  injustice.  Whenever  enlighten- 
ment develops  and  democracy  takes  root,  and 
especially  wherever  the  freedom,  equality,  and 
mutuality  of  an  industrial  society  displaces  the 
arbitrary,  despotic,  and  predatory  character  of 
a  militant  one,  the  institution  of  marriage  re- 
sponds and  conventional  polygyny  goes  into  dis- 
repute. Because  monogamy  makes  use  of  the 
equality  in  the  number  of  the  sexes,  it  is  the 
method  by  which  the  largest  number  of  family 
groups  for  the  training  and  rearing  of  children 
is  possible.  In  so  far  as  the  child  is  the  justifi- 
cation of  the  family  this  commends  monogamy 
as  the  highest  form  of  marriage. 

Second,  the  rise  of  the  idea  of  property  in 
woman  may  have  an  influence  towards  monogamy. 
When  women  have  to  be  purchased  rather  ^than 
captured,  whether  by  money  or  service,  they  are 


Evolution  of  the  Family  76 

rendered  more  inaccessible  to  the  average  man 
and  hence  come  to  have  a  higher  value.  Men 
will  resent  encroachment  or  invasion  of  this  prop- 
erty right  and  be  less  likely  to  part  with  a  wife 
by  an  easy  divorce  method. 

Third,  as  in  polyandry,  the  preference  by 
custom  or  choice  by  the  wife  of  one  of  the 
husbands  as  the  real  husband  tends  to  develop 
monogamy,  so  in  polygyny  the  elevation  of  one 
wife,  either  because  she  is  the  first  or  because 
of  her  beauty,  operates  in  the  same  direction. 
While  under  the  sway  of  custom  and  religious 
sanction,  women  living  under  polygyny  may  and 
do  support  it,  there  are  overwhelming  indica- 
tions that  the  system  runs  counter  to  their 
jealous  nature  and  that  it  degrades  their  best 
sex  sentiments.  Polygyny  finds  its  approval  by 
women  where  they  carry  all  the  burdens  of  out- 
side and  inside  labor.  Under  such  cases  an 
additional  wife  lessens  the  work  of  earlier  ones, 
and  they  may  even  importune  that  more  wives 
be  procured.  Yet  wide  evidence  testifies  to  the 
intense  jealousy,  rivalry,  enmity,  and  oftentimes 
bickering  and  fighting  that  exists  among  polyg- 
ynous  wives.  Monogamy  relieves  the  situation 
and  satisfies  the  desire  of  the  wife  to  be  regarded 
as  the  sole  object  of  marital  affection.  Says 
Westermarck:     "Where  w^omen  have  succeeded 


76  The  Family  and  Society 

in  obtaining  some  power  over  their  husbands, 
y  or  where  the  altruistic  feehngs  of  men  have  be- 
y^/  come  refined  enough  to  lead  them  to  respect  the 
feelings  of  those  weaker  than  themselves,  mo- 
nogamy is  generally  considered  the  only  proper 
form  of  marriage.  Among  monogamous  savage 
or  barbarous  races  the  position  of  woman  is 
comparatively  good;  and  the  one  phenomenon 
must  be  regarded  as  partly  the  cause,  partly  the 
effect,  of  the  other.'' 

Fourth,  polygyny  will  be  abandoned  and 
monogamy  advanced  in  so  far  as  war  declines 
and  economic  conditions  generally  improve.  The 
decline  of  the  first  removes  a  great  agency  for 
the  exploitation  of  women  through  capture  and 
enslavement.  Rising  economic  conditions  tend  to 
eliminate  women  from  the  external  field  of  labor 
by  making  it  imperative  that  man  shall  do  the 
work  and  carry  the  responsibility.  This  in  turn 
operates  among  the  mass  of  men  to  make  women 
more  independent  and  less  inclined  to  bear  the 
burdens  and  disadvantages  of  polygyny.  Thus, 
as  we  ascend  through  the  successive  zones  of 
Africa  —  the  banana,  millet,  cattle,  and  camel  — 
we  discover  an  evolution  towards  monogamy.  In 
the  first  women  are  cheap  and  polygyny  is  gen- 
eral; in  the  second  women  are  scarcer  and 
dearer,  men  do  part  of  the  work,  and  polygyny 


Evolution  of  the  Family  77 

has  decreased;  in  the  third  women  are  much 
scarcer  and  dearer,  men  perform  most  of  the 
work,  and  monogamy  obtains  for  much  of  the 
population;  in  the  fourth,  women  are  inde- 
pendent and  will  not  put  up  with  polygyny. 

Fifth,  many  causes  bound  up  with  advancing 
civilization,  promote  the  extension  of  monogamy. 
The  development  of  the  mental  and  moral  quali- 
ties refines  the  passions  which  unite  the  sexes, 
makes  love  less  dependent  on  mere  external  quali- 
ties, and  extends  the  sympathy  between  husband 
and  wife  beyond  the  decline  of  youth  and  beauty. 
The  rise  of  romantic  love  is  relatively  a  recent 
occurrence.  By  this  the  affections  are  placed 
on  but  one  of  the  opposite  sex,  that  one  is 
clothed  with  raiments  of  perfection,  and  chiv- 
alric  loyalty  becomes  the  ideal  of  married  life. 
Though  this  halo  of  glory  may  fade  away  dur- 
ing married  life,  it  serves  as  a  preparatory 
period  in  which  the  substantial  and  permanent 
characteristics  may  be  discovered,  and  promotes 
monogamy.  Likewise  the  development  of  an 
understanding  of  the  conditions  of  life,  of  en- 
lightenment and  idealism,  of  a  love  and  loyalty 
for  the  good  of  mankind,  of  an  appreciation  of 
childhood,  and  the  importance  of  well  trained 
and  rightly  conditioned  offspring  for  the  promo- 
tion of  progress  serve  to  create  the  highest  type 


78  The  Family  and  Society 

of  family.  With  the  development  of  the  monoga- 
mous family  kinship  ties  are  made  more  definite, 
fraternal  affection  enhanced,  love  for  parents 
and  for  offspring  intensified  and  refined,  child- 
hood and  youth  rendered  richer  and  more  secure, 
the  contents  of  family  life  enlarged  and  deep- 
ened, and  the  declining  and  oftentimes  dependent 
years  of  the  parents  given  a  security  and  sweet- 
ness not  to  be  found  under  other  forms. 

5.  Development   of   the   Monogamous   Family 

While  there  has  been  an  evolution  of  mar- 
riage through  the  various  forms,  as  has  been 
seen,  within  monogamy  itself  there  has  been  a 
marked  change.  There  is  a  vast  distinction 
between  the  monogamic  family  which  exists  in 
America  and  that  which  obtained  in  early  Rome, 
or  even  in  earlier  Christendom.  The  transforma- 
tions that  have  occurred  have  to  do  with  woman's 
position  in  the  home,  her  relation  to  her  husband 
and  children  in  matters  of  powers  and  duties, 
her  legal  rights  in  property  and  marital  matters, 
and  her  social  outlook  and  opportunities. 

Rome,  which  is  probably  typical  of  Aryan 
peoples,  shows  a  distinct  transformation  of  the 
family.  In  its  earlier  period  the  extreme  patri- 
archal type  of  family  flourished.  Ancestor  wor- 
ship was  the  basis  of  this.     The  eldest  male  of 


Evolution  of  the  Family  79 

a  large  kinship  group  was  the  despotic  ruler. 
Because  he  represented  the  deified  ancestors  his 
power  was  only  limited  by  custom  and  religious 
scruples.  Property  descended  in  the  male  line.  ^ 
The  patriarch  was  the  priest  of  the  family.  He 
might  divorce  a  sterile  wife,  accept  or  reject  the 
child  at  birth,  choose  the  husband  for  his 
daughter,  disinherit  his  son,  and  put  to  death 
the  wife  for  adultery.  He  administered  the 
judicial  power  of  the  household.  The  Aryan 
laws  of  Manu  said:  "Woman  during  her  in- 
fancy depends  upon  her  father;  during  her 
youth  upon  her  husband;  when  her  husband  is 
dead,  upon  her  sons;   if  she  has  no  son,  on  the  .y 

nearest  relative  of  her  husband,  for  a  woman       y^ 
ought  never  to  govern  herself  according  to  her 
own  will."     This  strict  patriarchal  system  held 
sway  during,  the  first  fiYe   or  six  centuries  of 
Roman  history. 

But  the  growth  of  population,  and  the  devel- 
opment of  agriculture,  industry,  and  commerce, 
undermined  the  primitive  patriarchal  groups,  and 
called  for  the  exercise  of  powers  over  social 
matters  by  a  central  legislative  and  adminis- 
trative organization.  The  council  and  senate 
assumed  many  of  the  powers  and  duties  which 
had  been  exercised  by  the  patriarch.  Ancestor 
worship  was  undermined  by  the  introduction  of 


80  The  Family  and  Society 

nature  worship  and  the  appearance  of  philoso- 
phy. The  rights  of  children  were  equalized  by 
giving  the  father  power  to  make  a  will  which 
might  include  all  the  children,  females  as  well 
as  males.  Marriage  became  a  private  contract 
and  the  right  of  divorce  extended  to  women. 
Patriarchal  kinship  lines  were  broken  by  the 
incorporation  of  inhabitants  into  cities,  and 
families  were  organized  on  the  non-patriarchal 
basis. 

Under  the  Roman  Empire  social  conditions 
were  corrupt.  Family  life  had  waned.  Vice 
was  rampant,  divorce  frequent,  and  the  family 
of  integrity  and  purity,  at  least  in  the  city  of 
Rome,  was  infrequent.  Juvenal  cites  the  case 
of  a  woman  who  married  eight  husbands  in  five 
years.  Yet  there  must  have  been  many  who 
stood  for  the  old  standards,  for  Lecky  writes: 
"There  can  be  no  question  that  the  moral  tone 
of  the  (female)  sex  was  extremely  low  —  lower, 
probably,  than  in  France  under  the  Regency,  or 
in  England  under  the  Restoration  —  and  it  is 
also  certain  that  frightful  excesses  of  unnatural 
passion,  of  which  the  most  corrupt  of  modem 
courts  present  no  parallel,  were  perpetrated  with 
but  little  concealment  on  the  Palatine.  Yet 
there  is  probably  no  period  in  which  examples 
of  conjugal  heroism  and  fidelity  appear  more 


Evolution  of  the  Family  81 

frequent  than  in  this  very  age,  in  which  marriage 
was  most  free,  and  in  which  corruption  was  so 
general."  It  was  in  this  period  that  Christianity 
arose  with  its  high  conception  of  marriage  and 
its  restricted  sanction  of  divorce.  The  efforts 
of  early  Christians  were  undoubtedly  directed 
towards  the  purification  of  the  family,  elimina- 
tion of  divorce  and  vice,  and  the  improvement 
of  the  lives  of  children.  Early  church  writers 
attacked  sex  immorality  and  licentiousness,  and 
praised  chastity  and  celibacy.  The  family  life 
of  the  early  Christians  was  undoubtedly  superior 
to  that  of  the  pagan  world  generally. 

In  a  later  period,  with  the  church  strongly 
established  and  with  weak  political  states,  the 
family  came  under  the  regulation  of  the  former. 
Marriage  was  made  a  sacrament  of  the  church, 
divorce  was  prohibited.  Marriage  was  brought 
under  the  entire  control  of  the  church.  But  bad 
influences  entered  along  with  the  good.  lITie 
patriarchal  type  of  family  was  promoted,  woman 
being  viewed  as  inferior  to  man  and  confined  to 
domestic  duties  exclusively.  Further,  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  celibacy  debased  the  mar- 
ried state.  Only  the  highest  spiritual  power 
could  be  attained  through  abstaining  from  mar- 
riage. Hence  the  latter  involved  spiritual  pollu- 
tion.     Moreover,    celibacy    could   not   be   kept 


82  The  Family  and  Society 

chaste.  Family  life  was  invaded  and  polluted 
from  the  direction  of  a  theoretically  superior 
spirituality.  Moreover,  the  administration  of 
the  canonical  laws  relative  to  prohibited  degrees 
and  annulment  of  marriage  was  distorted  to 
meet  the  demands  of  influential  persons.  It  is 
questionable  if  a  thousand  years  after  Christ 
marriage  was  improved  as  compared  to  its  con- 
dition in  Rome  in  the  first  century. 

The  Reformation  attacked  the  abuses  of  the 
system  of  controlling  marriage.  Marriage 
ceased  to  be  viewed  as  a  sacrament,  it  was  widely 
held  to  be  a  civil  contract,  notably  by  the 
Puritans,  and  the  grounds  for  divorce  were 
broadened.  Since  then  the  tendency  has  grown 
to  look  on  marriage  in  that  way  and  to  place  it 
under  the  entire  control  of  the  state.  In  recent 
times  the  patriarchal  family  regime  is  being 
loosened.  Education  has  raised  the  intelligence 
of  women,  vocations  have  been  opened  to  them 
so  that  marriage  is  not  immediately  imperative, 
political  and  civil  rights  have  been  extended. 
Woman  has  come  to  be  regarded  more  as  a  human 
being,  possessed  of  much  the  same  capacity  as 
man.  As  a  consequence,  her  participation  in 
matters  outside  the  home  has  enlarged  with  a 
consequent  improvement  in  the  internal  home 
relationships.      With   the   improvement   of  the 


Evolution  of  the  Family 


status  of  woman  relative  to  the  family  and  the 
home  that  of  children  has  grown  apace.  Their 
rights  and  privileges  in  matters  of  play,  enjoy- 
ment, education,  and  to  a  just  consideration  on 
the  part  of  fathers  as  well  as  mothers  are  gen- 
erally conceded,  and  mark  one  of  the  greatest 
advances  in  family  life. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Current  Conditions  Affecting  the  Family 

FOR  the  purposes  of  this  chapter  it  is  assumed 
that  it  has  been  amply  established  that  the 
modern  family  is  marked  by  higher  ethical  char- 
acteristics than  that  of  previous  times,  and  that 
the  welfare  of  society  demands  a  further  evolu- 
tion in  that  direction.  Further,  that  the  mon- 
ogamic  form  of  marriage  is  the  form  of  family 
which  best  subserves  the  interests  of  the  off- 
spring, parents,  and  the  community  at  large. 
The  conclusion  is  apparent  that  whatever 
threatens  the  existence  of  the  family,  lowers  its 
tone,  or  affects  its  efficiency  must  be  viewed  as 
inimical  to  society  generally.  The  further  in- 
ference follows,  that  wisdom  dictates  that  a 
serious  study  of  conditions  affecting  family  life 
should  be  made  in  order  that  their  nature  may 
be  understood  and  that  evil  consequences  may 
be  averted.  In  the  present  chapter  attention 
will  be  paid  only  to  the  more  pressing  and 
menacing  of  current  conditions.  To  give  a 
treatment  of  all  those  that  press  on  the  family 
is  obviously  impossible  in  a  single  chapter  of  a 
small  volume.  However,  it  is  worth  while  to 
84 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         85 

consider  the  more  fundamental  ones,  and,  where 
possible,  to  point  out  remedies.  It  may  be 
superfluous  to  state  that  no  single  condition  con- 
sidered here  stands  apart  by  itself.  In  the  nature 
of  the  case  by  the  very  fact  that  they  are  social, 
all  conditions  are  more  or  less  interdependent. 
Consequently,  like  the  directorates  of  the  great 
financial  and  industrial  institutions  of  the  time, 
the  conditions  which  affect  the  family  are 
interlocking. 

1.  Conditions  Affecting  Marriage 

There  are  a  number  of  conditions  which  affect 
the  entrance  into  matrimonial  life.  It  is  fre- 
quently asserted  that  marriage  is  decreasing  in 
the  United  States.  This  opinion  is  based  on 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  large  number  of  single 
women  and  men,  particularly  the  latter,  in  this 
country.  Thus  in  1910,  there  were  12,550,129 
males  15  years  of  age  and  over,  or  38.7  per  cent 
of  males  of  that  age,  and  8,933,170  females 
belonging  to  the  same  age  group,  or  29.7  per 
cent  of  females  of  that  age,  who  were  single. 
But  these  facts  are  misleading  and  the  opinion 
cited  is  undoubtedly  questionable,  although  no 
absolutely  decisive  data  covering  a  large  lapse 
of  time  are  obtainable.  However,  there  are  two 
5ets  of  facts  which  are  suggestive.     One  consists 


86  The  Family  and  Society 

of  statistics  of  single  men  and  women  65  years 
of  age  and  over  and  who  presumably  will  never 
marry.  In  1890,  5.6  per  cent  of  each  of  males 
and  females  belonging  to  this  age  group  were 
unmarried.  Twenty  years  later,  6.2  per  cent 
of  all  males  of  this  age  group  and  6.3  per  cent 
of  females  were  reported  single.  This  would 
indicate  a  very  insignificant  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  single  persons,  since  there  are  relatively 
few  persons  65  years  of  age  and  over. 

The  other  set  of  facts  comprises  statistics  of 
marriage  from  1887  to  1906.  An  increase  in 
the  marriage  rate  is  found  for  the  United  States 
as  a  whole,  and  for  each  of  the  several  geo- 
graphic divisions.  The  number  of  marriages  per 
10,000  of  population  for  the  nation  rose  from 
about  87.5  in  1887  to  105  in  1906.  In  the 
western  division,  it  rose  from  about  71  to  about 
127,  this  being  the  greatest  gain.  The  North 
Central  Division  showed  the  least  ascent,  rising 
from  about  91  to  about  97.5.  These  facts 
seemingly  indicate  that  the  unmarried  element 
of  the  population  is  being  absorbed.  But  there 
are  two  factors  which  evidently  qualify  this 
interpretation.  First,  there  is  a  growth  in  the 
proportion  of  marriages  reported  during  the 
period  involved.  Second,  there  has  been  a  growth 
of   divorce   and   remarriage   during  that  time. 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         8T 

However,  a  comparison  of  the  percentages  of 
single  persons  15  years  of  age  and  over  re- 
ported by  the  censuses  of  1890,  1900  and  1910 
respectively  were:  males,  41.7,  40.^,  and  38.7; 
females,  81.8,  61.2,  and  29.7,  indicating  a  de- 
crease of  unmarried  persons  in  each  case.  Fur- 
ther, in  the  South  Atlantic  states,  where  the 
divorce  rate  is  lowest,  the  rate  of  increase  of 
marriage  far  exceeded  that  of  divorce,  indicating 
a  large  net  increase  of  the  former.  The  infer- 
ence must  be,  consequently,  that  there  is  a  prob- 
able decrease  in  the  number  of  unmarried  persons 
in  the  United  States. 

A  supposedly  considerable  factor  affecting 
marriage  is  that  of  its  asserted  postponement. 
Some  careful  writers  assign  postponement  of 
marriage  as  a  fruitful  source  of  increased  divorce. 
But  a  study  of  the  statistics  of  married  and 
unmarried  persons  in  the  United  States  during 
the  last  two  decades  reveals  the  fact  that  more 
marriages  of  persons  from  15  to  34  years  of 
age  occurred  in  the  decade  ending  1910  than  in 
the  one  ending  in  1890.  The  percentages  of 
decrease  of  single  persons  in  the  various  age 
groups,  15-19,  20-24,  25-34,  were  in  the  same 
order,  as  follows:  males,  1.1,  5.8,  1.8;  females, 
2.4,  3.5, 1.7.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was  an  in- 
crease of  single  persons  in  the  succeeding  age 


88  The  Family  and  Society 

groups,  35-44,  45-64,  and  65  and  over,  as  fol- 
lows: males,  1.4,  1.9,  0.6;  females,  1.5,  1.4, 
and  0.7.  This  would  indicate  that  an  increasing 
number  of  persons  are  marrying  early  in  life 
rather  than  the  reverse.  The  statistics  of  mar- 
riage, though  of  less  value  because  of  the  inclu- 
sion of  remarriage  of  widowed  and  divorced, 
prove  the  same  thing.  No  doubt  in  certain 
callings  there  may  be  a  postponement  of  mar- 
riage, but  they  constitute  a  minimum  of  the 
national  population.  But  their  conspicuousness 
has  given  rise  to  the  assumption  of  a  general 
postponement  of  marriage. 

The  reasons  given  for  the  supposed  abandon- 
ment and  postponement  of  marriage  are  the 
opening  up  of  new  occupations  to  women,  their 
.  growing  independence,  the  "  woman  movement," 
heightening  education,  the  increased  cost  of  liv- 
ing and  relatively  shortened  incomes,  and  the 
self -centered  career  of  young  men  in  cities.  No 
doubt  these  assigned  reasons  touch  the  case  of 
the  groups  in  which  there  is  an  actual  abandon- 
ment and  postponement  of  marriage.  Severe 
economic  conditions  demonstrably  postpone  mar- 
riage temporarily.  Thus  following  the  panics 
of  1893  and  of  1903  the  otherwise  occurring 
annual  increase  of  marriages  was  reversed  and 
became  a  decrease.    The  decrease  varied  with  the 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         89 

severity  of  the  panic  and  with  the  region.  But 
a  growing  increase  in  the  number  of  marriages 
took  place  during  one  of  the  two  succeeding 
years.  A  better  regulation  of  the  industry  and 
finance  of  the  nation  will  obviate  even  this  tem- 
porary postponement.  Most  of  the  other  causes 
are  inherent  in  an  evolving  progressive  society 
and  are  likely  to  remain. 

^.  Conditions  Affecting   the   Size   of  Families 

The  importance  of  the  size  of  families  has 
been  partly  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  the  func- 
tions of  the  family.  There  it  was  indicated  that 
the  continuance  of  a  stock  or  nation  is  dependent 
on  the  general  fecundity  of  the  married  persons 
living  in  the  given  group.  To  keep  up  a  stock 
of  people,  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be 
as  many  as  three  offspring  per  pair.  It  is  very 
desirable  that  talented  families  should  be  per- 
petuated, but  in  order  that  tfeey  shall  not  be 
eliminated  the  above  rate  of  reproduction  must 
be  maintained.  A  highly  civilized  nation  should 
not  only  perpetuate  itself  but  at  the  same  time 
maintain  a  relatively  .higL^te  of  fecundity  in 
order  that  it  shall  not  sink  int»  such  an  incon- 
spicuous place  that  its  influence  upon  the  world 
at  large  is  lost.  But  even  a  small  nation  may 
be  influential.     That  of  Switzerland,  for  exam- 


90  The  Family  and  Society 

pie,  on  the  world  at  large  has  been  out  of 
keeping  with  its  numerical  importance.  Perhaps 
if  militarism  could  be  abolished,  nations  generally 
could  afford  to  pay  less  attention  to  the  matter 
of  increase  of  population  and  devote  their  efforts 
to  developing  the  arts  of  peace  and  civilization. 
However,  there  seems  to  be  a  connection  between 
fecundity  and  the  production  of  a  vigorous  civ- 
ilization. Large  families  and  large  nations  ap- 
pear to  be  productive  of  individuals  of  large 
vitality.  I  know  of  no  statistics  on  this  par- 
ticular point,  but  observation  would  seem  to 
substantiate  it.  It  is  claimed  Karl  Pearson  has 
demonstrated  statistically  that  immunity  from 
tuberculosis  increases  with  the  second,  and  espe- 
cially the  third,  child  of  the  family.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  this  immunity  may  extend  to  other 
diseases.  But  the  claim  requires  further 
proof. 

The  size  of  families  has  steadily  declined  in 
J  the  United  States  since  the  first  census  was  taken 
I   in  1790.    The  percentages  of  natural  increase  of 
^   population  for  the  successive  decades  ending  in 
1800,  1810,  1820,  1830,  and  1840  were  respect- 
ively 83.9,  33.5,  32.1,  30.9,  and  29.6;   showing 
an  average  decennial  decline  of  0.86  per  cent. 
This    was    previous   to   the   heavy   immigration 
which  set  in  about  1840.  Between  1850  and  1900 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         91 

the  number  of  persons  in  a  family  in  the  United 
States  was  reduced  from  5.6  to  4.7,  a  decrease 
of  16.1  per  cent.  This  would  give  3.6  children 
per  family  in  1850,  and  but  S.7  in  1900.  A 
decline  in  the  birth  rate  and  reduction  in  the 
size  of  families  is  a  world  phenomenon,  one 
common  to  civilized  nations,  Germany  alone  ex- 
cepted, and  is  seen  in  the  city  populations  of  all 
countries. 

The  postponement  of  marriage  doubtless 
operates  to  decrease  the  size  of  families,  in  so 
far  as  it  obtains.  It  is  amply  established  that 
the  first  few  years  of  sexual  maturity  represent 
the  period  of  greatest  fecundity.  If  marriage 
is  delayed  until  this  period  is  past,  a  smaller 
family  is  generally  inevitable.  In  New  South 
Wales  it  is  estimated  that  where  the  average 
number  of  children  is  3.6  per  family,  a  woman 
of  20  may  expect  5  children,  one  of  28,  3,  one 
of  32,  2,  and  one  of  37,  1.  In  Scotland  the 
period  of  greatest  fecundity  of  women  is  between 
the  ages  of  15  and  24.  Coughlan  believes  that 
one-sixth  of  the  decline  of  birth  rate  of  New 
South  Wales  is  due  to  late  marriage  and  Heron 
calculates  it  accounts  for  50  per  cent  of  the 
decline  in  London.  As  we  have  seen,  marriage 
in  the  United  States  during  the  two  decades 
ending  with  1910  has  occurred  earlier  for  the 


92  The  Family  and  Society 

nation  as  a  whole.  The  small  groups  of  people 
who  probably  marry  late,  doubtless  reduce  their 
fecundity  by  that  event,  whether  or  not  they 
actually  reduce  the  size  of  their  families. 

The  exercise  of  prudence  or  voluntary  control 
of  reproduction  is  unquestionably  the  largest 
factor  in  the  reduction  of  the  size  of  families. 
Sidney  Webb's  investigation  in  England  among 
the  middle-class  people  shows  that  out  of  316 
marriages,  242  practiced  limitation  of  offspring, 
while  for  the  ten  years,  1890-1899,  out  of  120 
marriages,  107  were  limited,  and  five  of  the 
remainder  were  childless.  His  study  of  benefits 
on  child-birth  in  the  Heart  of  Oaks  Friendly 
Society  indicates  that  in  1880,  2,472  per  10,000 
members  received  such  benefits,  whereas  in  1904, 
only  1,165  for  the  same  number  of  members 
drew  on  that  fund.  This  is  a  higher  decrease  of 
children  than  is  noted  for  England  at  large. 
No  such  inquiries  have  been  made  in  the  United 
States,  but  it  is  likely  that  about  the  same  forces 
are  at  work  here  as  in  England,  although  it  is 
evident  that  the  limitation  of  families  is  not  as 
widespread  here  as  there. 

The  motives  for  the  exercise  of  prudence 
doubtless  are  numerous.  Those  who  replied  to 
Webb's  questions  relative  to  reasons  for  limiting 
reproduction,  in  the  group  of  cases  first  cited 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         93 

above,  numbered  128.  Of  these,  73  alleged  pov- 
erty of  the  parents  in  relation  to  the  standards 
of  comfort;  24  assigned  sexual  ill  health;  38, 
other  ill  health  in  parents;  24,  disinclination  of 
wife;  8,  termination  of  marriage  by  the  death 
of  a  parent.  Since  these  were  middle-class  peo- 
ple, it  is  not  unlikely  that  their  motives  are 
fairly  representative  for  inhabitants  of  America. 
Doubtless  the  rising  standard  of  living,  the 
exhaustion  of  free  public  land,  the  growth  of 
luxury  on  the  part  of  some,  the  higher  education 
of  both  men  and  women,  the  growing  selfishness 
in  certain  sections  of  the  population,  and  the 
abandonment  of  the  belief  in  the  binding  force 
of  the  Old  Testament  injunction  on  the  Hebrews 
to  be  fruitful  and  multiply  are  factors  account- 
ing for  the  increased  exercise  of  prudence. 

Immigration  is  assigned  as  a  cause  of  the  ^ 
falling  birth-rate  in  America.  One  of  its  effects 
is  taken  to  be  the  retardation  of  increase  of  the 
native  stock  of  America.  While  of  some  moment, 
this  factor  has  been  overrated.  The  decline  in 
the  birth-rate  in  the  United  States  was  quite  as 
marked  previous  to  the  advent  of  large  scale 
immigration  as  subsequent  to  it.  Where  workers 
immediately  compete  with  cheap  foreign  labor, 
this  influence  would  be  most  marked,  but  it  has 
little  effect  on  the  nation  at  large,  which  has  been 


94  The  Family  and  Society 

predominantly  agricultural  during  our  history. 
Goldenweiser,  of  the  United  States  Census  Bu- 
reau, fairly  demonstrates  that  the  claim  that  our 
national  population  would  have  been  larger  now 
than  it  is  if  immigration  had  not  taken  place 
has  little  to  rest  on;  and  connects  the  decrease 
in  number  of  the  native  stock  with  urbanization 
and  industrialization. 

The  spread  of  venereal  diseases  is  a  large  fac- 
tor in  decreasing  the  size  of  families.  There  are 
no  governmental  statistics  bearing  on  this  sub- 
ject and  data  relative  to  these  diseases  will 
appear  in  a  later  portion  of  this  chapter.  It 
will  be  sufficient  in  the  present  place  to  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  much  sterility  of 
infected  women,  a  large  number  of  abortions 
and  expulsions  of  children  dead  before  birth, 
and  an  overwhelming  decedence  of  children  born 
of  infected  parents  result  from  the  "Black 
Plague." 

Nor  must  we  fail  to  mention  the  effect  that 
developing  civilization  exercises  in  this  direction. 
In  the  evolution  of  the  forms  of  life  the  rate 
of  reproduction  has  fallen  off  with  the  growth 
of  brain  and  intelligence.  Increasing  rationality 
and  psychical  development  generally  has  created 
parenthood  and  childhood  and  guaranteed  life 
against  premature  death.     The  supply  of  living 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         9S 

forms  could  be  secured  advantageously  by  saving 
individuals  already  born  from  ruthless  extermina- 
tion. Hence,  in  the  higher  forms  of  life,  birth- 
rates are  lowered  because  deaths  are  postponed. 
During  the  course  of  human  evolution  the  same 
tendency  is  noticeable.  Nature  seeks  to  strike 
a  balance.  In  nations  having  a  heavy  death-rate, 
a  high  birth-rate  is  made  imperative  if  the 
nation  is  to  live  and  grow.  But  where  life  is 
made  secure,  where  infant  mortality  is  reduced 
to  the  minimum  and  much  attention  given  to 
sanitation  and  education,  national  and  racial  per- 
petuity are  secured  without  a  multiplicity  of 
births  per  family. 

3.  Divorce 

Probably  no  condition  that  touches  the  family 
has  been  discussed  longer  and  at  present  attracts 
more  attention  than  that  of  divorce.  Its  rapid 
growth  in  the  United  States  especially,  and  its 
increase  in  other  nations  renders  it  conspicuous 
and  causes  many  to  seriously  question  whether 
or  not  the  principle  of  monogamy  is  not  being 
threatened.  Some  of  the  larger  aspects  of 
divorce  will  be  treated.  It  is  unfortunate  that 
statistics  are  not  available  for  correlating  divorce 
with  other  social  phenomena  in  order  that  the 
real  causes  of  divorce  might  be  discovered.    Until 


96  The  Family  and  Society 

such  a  correlation  is  made  the  actual  conditions 
producing  it  can  only  be  approximated. 

Much  care  is  needful  in  using  statistics  of 
divorce  because  the  case  is  likely  to  be  exag- 
gerated, and  it  is  bad  enough  when  truthfully 
represented.  The  statement  is  ordinarily  made 
that  there  is  about  one  divorce  for  every  thirteen 
marriages  in  the  United  States.  But  two  correc- 
tions must  be  made  relative  to  this  statement. 
First,  it  pertains  to  native  marriages  only,  that 
is,  marriages  of  native-bom  persons.  Second, 
the  comparison  relates  only  to  marriages  which 
have  been  terminated  either  by  death  or  divorce. 
Existing  marriages  do  not  enter  into  the  ratio. 
With  these  qualifications  in  view,  Pictogram  I 
depicts  the  growth  of  divorce  in  the  United 
States  from  1867  to  1906.  In  1867  there  were 
less  than  10,000  divorces  granted;  in  1906,  there 
were  about  7^,000.  The  diagonal  line  indicates 
the  number  there  would  have  been  in  the  latter 
year  had  the  rate  of  1867  relative  to  the  popu- 
lation been  maintained;  that  is,  about  28,000. 
In  other  words,  the  ratio  of  divorce  to  popula- 
tion in  1906  was  3.13  times  what  it  was  in  1867. 

A  more  significant  measure  of  the  frequency 
of  divorce  is  to  denote  its  ratio  to  the  number 
of  marriages.  Viewed  in  this  way,  in  1870  there 
were  81  divorces  granted  for  each  100,000  of 


PICTOGRAM  I 


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Growth  of  divorce  in  the  United  States 

Special  U.  S.  Census  Report,  Marriage  and  Divorce, 

Part  I,  p.  12 


% 


98  The  Family  and  Society 

the  married  population,  while  in  1900  the  num- 
ber was  200,  which  indicates  an  increase  of  247 
per  cent  during  that  period. 

As  compared  with  European  nations,  the  di- 
vorce rate  in  the  United  States  is  very  high. 
In  1870  the  rate  in  the  United  States  was  29 
per  100,000  of  the  population.  That  of  Den- 
mark was  18,  being  the  highest  European  rate; 
Sweden  and  Netherlands  stood  next  with  3  each. 
In  1900  the  rates  per  100,000  stood  as  follows: 
United  States,  73  ;  Switzerland,  32 ;  France,  23 ; 
Denmark,  17;  German  Empire,  15;  Servia,  13. 
The  other  European  countries  for  which  com- 
parative data  are  given  range  from  11  to  1,  the 
latter  being  the  rate  for  Austria.  It  is  to  be 
noticed  that  the  divorce  rate  is  increasing  in 
Europe,  especially  in  Switzerland,  France,  and 
Germany. 

Coming  to  the  question  of  causes  of  divorce 
we  enter  a  debatable  field.  Some  general  socio- 
logical conditions  connected  with  the  situation 
may  be  treated.  Geographically,  the  Western, 
North  Central  and  South  Central  Divisions  of  the 
United  States  bear  the  highest  divorce-rate.  The 
Western  Division  rose  from  50  to  about  170 
divorces  per  100,000  of  population  from  1867 
to  1906.  In  the  same  time,  the  North  Central 
rose  from  about  44  to  about  108;   the  South 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family         99 

Central  from  about  15  to  about  118;  the  North 
Atlantic  from  about  17  to  about  41 ;  the  South 
Atlantic  from  about  8  to  about  43.  Thus  the 
Western  and  South  Central  Divisions  made  the 
greatest  increases. 

A  probably  somewhat  similar  situation  occurs 
relative  to  urban  and  rural  communities.  The 
divorce-rate  is  generally  higher  in  cities  than  in 
the  country.  In  some  states  the  urban  and  rural 
rates  diverge  markedly.  Thus  per  100,000  pop- 
ulation the  city  and  rural  rates  in  their  order  for 
these  states  in  1900  are:  Rhode  Island,  119 
and  60;  Indiana,  233  and  134;  Iowa,  251  and 
85;  Washington,  266  and  162;  California,  219 
and  128.  In  Kansas  City  the  rate  is  2.6  times 
as  high  as  for  the  rural  counties  of  Missouri. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  newer  sections  of  the 
nation  and  the  cities  which  are  building  up  rap- 
idly present  somewhat  similar  conditions  for  pro- 
ducing divorce.  The  ambitious,  the  restless,  and 
frequently  the  less  scrupulous  rush  towards  both 
kinds  of  communities.  The  restraints  of  former 
community  life  are  removed  so  that  divorce  arises 
as  a  probable  concomitant  of  other  excesses  in 
life. 

Race  and  nationality  do  not  appear  to  play  a 
very  large  part  in  the  production  of  divorce. 
It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  or  not  negroes 


100  The  Family  and  Society 

account  for  the  rising  rate  in  the  South.  In 
Louisiana  the  rate  is  highest  in  the  densest  negro 
counties,  while  the  reverse  is  true  in  Florida. 
But  it  is  determined  that  the  rate  is  lower  among 
foreign-born  white  persons  than  among  native 
whites  of  native  American  parentage.  For  every 
100,000  persons  15  years  of  age  or  over  living 
in  the  United  States  in  1910,  bom  in  foreign 
countries,  there  were  346  persons  divorced. 
Among  native  whites  of  the  same  age  group 
bom  of  foreign  or  mixed  parentage  the  rate  was 
S40,  while  among  native  whites  born  of  native 
parents  it  was  589.  Immigrants  from  nations 
having  low  divorce  rates  and  oftentimes  empha- 
sizing the  sacramental  character  of  marriage 
would  be  expected  to  apply  for  fewer  divorces 
than  citizens  of  our  nation  generally.  But  why 
the  second  group,  native  whites  bom  of  foreign 
or  mixed  parents,  should  secure  relatively  so 
much  fewer  divorces,  does  ncft  appear. 

It  may  be  fair  to  conclude  that  barrenness  is 
a  standing  cause  of  divorce,  since  for  the  period 
1887  to  1906,  40.2  per  cent  of  all  cases  of 
divorce  reported  no  children.  Occupation  may 
affect  the  case,  but  little  is  known  about  this. 
The  Special  Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce 
of  the  United  States  Census  Bureau  arranges 
the  occupations  relative  to  their  probable  f re- 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       101 

quency  of  divorce.  Of  39  occupations  and  occu- 
pational groups  the  five  highest  in  the  list  are 
actors  and  professional  showmen ;  musicians  and 
teachers  of  music;  commercial  travelers;  tele- 
graph and  telephone  operators ;  and  physicians 
and  surgeons.  The  five  lowest  in  the  scale 
are  agricultural  laborers ;  clergymen ;  draymen, 
hackmen,  teamsters,  etc. ;  blacksmiths ;  farmers, 
planters,  and  overseers.  But  not  a  great  deal 
of  weight  is  claimed  for  this  arrangement. 

A  growing  proportion  of  divorces  is  being 
granted  to  women.  Among  other  things  shown, 
Pictogram  II*  exhibits  this  fact.  It  is  seen  that 
practically  twice  as  many  divorces  are  issued 
to  wives  as  to  husbands.  Various  reasons  are 
suggested  to  explain  this,  such  as  the  decay  of 
the  spirit  of  submission  to  the  double  standard 
of  morality  on  woman's  part,  and  her  growing 
independence  of  thought  and  of  action  which  are 
due  to  education  and  opportunities  in  the  indus- 
trial or  occupational  fields. 

The  growing  disbelief  in  the  religious  theory  -  ;?<^ 
of  marriage  unquestionably  fosters  divorce.  The 
popular  education  of  people  in  matters  of  law, 
and  especially  into  taking  advantage  of  those 
relating  to   dissolution   of  marriage,   doubtless 

*I  am  indebted  for  this  pictogram  to  Mr.  Geo.  R. 
Davies,  instructor  in  sociology  and  history  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Dakota, 


102  The  Family  and  Society 

possesses  some  force.  The  recognition  in  law 
of  more  numerous  grounds  of  divorce  must  have 
considerable  productive  force;  as  also  does  the 
laxness  in  administering  divorce  laws,  though  this 
has  been  exaggerated.  Other  factors  contribute 
their  influence,  such  as  increasing  industrialism 
with  large  populations  living  on  insufficient  in- 
comes, rising  cost  and  standard  of  living  which 
strain  family  incomes  to  the  breaking  point,  the 
existence  of  large  city  areas  where  vicious  con- 
ditions obtain  and  sex  matters  are  loose,  the  in- 
troduction of  venereal  infection  into  the  family, 
chiefly  by  the  husband,  and  the  waning  in  many 
quarters  of  the  family  ideal.  Dr.  Morrow  be- 
lieves that  venereal  infection  is  a  frequent  cause 
of  divorce,  although  it  seldom  appears  in  the 
court  record  as  such  for  the  obvious  reason  that 
few  would  care  to  be  published  as  having  been 
contaminated. 

Legally,  about  40  grounds  of  divorce  are  rec- 
ognized, but  the  vast  majority  of  divorces  are 
granted  for  adultery,  drunkenness,  cruelty,  de- 
sertion, and  neglect  to  provide,  though  during 
the  last  40  j^slys  there  has  been  a  tendency  to 
increase  the  relative  importance  of  the  grounds 
which  involve  the  less  serious  off^enses.  In  the 
period  1902-1906,  the  percentage  of  all  divorces 
granted  for  the  five  chief  legal  causes  are  as 


DIVORCES— -THOUSANDS 


104  The  Family  and  Society 

follows:  desertion,  38.5;  cruelty,  23.5;  adul- 
tery, 15.3 ;  drunkenness,  3.9 ;  neglect  to  provide, 
3.8.  Combination  of  the  preceding  causes  rep- 
resented 9  per  cent  and  all  other  causes,  5.9 
per  cent.  In  the  period  1867-71,  adultery  fol- 
lowed desertion  as  next  to  the  leading  cause. 
The  largest  gain  made  by  any  of  these  causes 
between  1902-1906  was  that  of  cruelty  to  hus- 
bands, which  increased  in  that  time  1,609.8  per 
cent  ;*  while  the  smallest  rate  of  increase  was  for 
adultery  on  the  part  of  husband,  divorces  on  that 
ground  growing  but  237.1  per  cent.  More 
divorces  were  granted  to  husbands  than  to  wives 
for  the  ground  of  adultery,  the  percentages 
being  59.1  and  40.9.  It  is  likely  this  difference 
is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  adultery  is 
condoned  when  practiced  by  men. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  remarriage  is  a  very 
large  motive  towards  securing  divorce.  The  only 
statistics  in  the  United  States  touching  this  issue 
are  gathered  in  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and 
Maine.  They  indicate  that  a  somewhat  larger 
proportion  of  divorced  persons  remarried  in  1906 
than  25  years  earlier.  Special  qualifying  condi- 
tions enter,  however,  and  too  much  faith  should 
not  be  placed  on  these  facts.     In  those  states 

*This  large  per  cent,  however,  is  based  on  the  occur- 
rences of  only  a  few  such  cases. 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       105 

about  35  per  cent  of  divorced  persons  remarry. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  high  authorities  that 
general  postponement  of  marriage  is  a  fruitful 
condition  of  divorce  because  habits  and  the  con- 
sequent characters  are  well  crystallized  by  the  age 
of  thirty,  and  those  who  marry  are  more  likely 
to  clash,  whereas  those  who  marry  early  are  able 
to  mould  their  characters  relative  to  each  other. 
As  has  been  shown  already  in  this  chapter,  mar- 
riage is  occurring  earlier,  generally.  Some 
groups  are  marrying  later,  doubtless,  but  they 
are  the  ones  in  which  higher  education  and  disci- 
pline prevail.  Persons  of  these  groups,  by  rea- 
son of  their  maturity  and  control,  are  the  less 
likely  to  separate  except  in  those  instances  where 
the  occupation  puts  a  premium  on  personal  van- 
ity and  gratification.  Millions  are  marrying 
before  they  are  mature  in  judgment,  mating 
on  the  call  of  passing  impulse,  soon  disagreeing 
and  divorcing.  Pictogram  II  indicates  that  di- 
vorce sets  in  in  the  first  year  of  married  life  and 
reaches  its  maximum  rate  in  the  fourth  year,  a 
situation  we  might  expect  in  the  face  of  so  many 
child  and  youthful  marriages.  The  Court  of 
Domestic  Relations  in  Chicago  finds  juvenile 
marriage  is  a  most  fruitful  occasion  of  divorce. 

How  far  divorce  is  an  evil  and  to  what  degree 
it  is  a  benefit  is  a  debatable  question.    To  those 


106  The  Family  and  Society 

who  believe  in  the  religious  sanctity  of  marriage 
and  that  the  state  should  leave  marriage  matters 
to  the  church,  all  divorce,  save  a  minimum 
granted  by  the  church,  is  bad.  To  others  who 
think  that  marriage  and  the  family  are  social 
institutions  to  be  regulated  as  are  other  institu- 
tions by  civil  agencies,  the  abuses  arising  in  con- 
nection with  divorce  are  bad,  but  divorce  in  itself 
is  good.  Without  stopping  to  discuss  that  now, 
let  us  turn  to  the  effect  loose  divorce  is  likely 
to  produce. 

In  discussing  divorce  it  is  necessary  to  divest 
ourselves  of  older  theories  of  the  nature  of  mar- 
riage and  remember  that  marriage  is  sociological 
in  nature.  It  is  an  institution  established  by 
society  through  ages  of  evolution,  as  we  have 
abundantly  seen  in  previous  chapters,  the  essen- 
tial function  of  which  is  to  perpetuate  society 
by  reproducing,  first,  fit  physical  organisms,  and 
second,  well  equipped  social  members.  A  con- 
comitant function  is  to  secure  the  happiness  and 
well-being  of  the  adults  through  the  privileges 
and  comforts  of  family  life.  The  highest  in- 
terests of  society  are  secured  when  the  fam.ily  is 
sanitary  and  bodily  sound,  when  the  offspring 
are  duly  socialized  so  as  to  be  able  to  fill  their 
places  in  society,  and  when  there  is  loyal  coopera- 
tion between  husband  and  wife.     Divorce  must 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       107 

be  inspected,  then,  relative  to  its  effects  on  chil- 
dren and  on  parents. 

First,  an  appreciation  of  the  function  of 
parents  relative  to  children  enables  us  to  realize 
that  where  parents  are  separated  so  that  the  off- 
spring enjoy  the  love  and  care  of  but  one  parent, 
they  have  lost  one  of  the  greatest  benefits  of 
life.  The  care  and  influence  of  both  father  and 
mother  are  needful  to  a  proper  nourishing  and 
disciplining  of  children.  Juvenile  courts  bear 
abundant  testimony  to  the  efficacy  of  weak 
parental  control  and  decadent  home  life  in  pro- 
ducing delinquency.  Professor  Charles  A. 
EUwood  secured  information  from  84<  reform 
schools  and  four  juvenile  courts  relative  to  de- 
linquency and  separation  of  parents.  He  found 
that  out  of  the  7,575  children  in  the  former, 
29.6  per  cent  came  from  families  in  which  there 
had  been  divorce  or  desertion;  35.03  per  cent 
from  families  in  which  either  father  or  mother 
were  dead.  Including  a  considerable  per  cent 
of  cases  which  overlap  these  first  two  cases,  the 
per  cent  of  children  in  reform  schools  coming 
from  homes  demoralized  by  drink,  vice,  or  crime, 
was  38.05  per  cent.  Four  thousand  two  hundred 
seventy-eight  juvenile  court  children  show  a  per- 
centage of  S3. 7  whose  parents  were  separated 
and  27.8,  one  or  both  parents  of  whom  were 


108  The  Family  and  Society 

dead.  Out  of  687  such  children  in  St.  Louis  in 
1909  at  least  400  had  not  both  parents  living 
at  home.  Thirty-two  institutions  for  dependent 
children  whose  professed  policy  was  to  take  des- 
titute children,  whether  orphans  or  not,  showed 
that  out  of  3,595  children,  24.7  per  cent  were 
from  families  in  which  there  had  been  desertion 
or  divorce,  while  only  47.5  per  cent  were  either 
orphans  or  half  orphans.  Thus  it  is  seen  that 
from  50  to  75  per  cent  of  these  classes  of  chil- 
dren emanate  from  conditions  in  which  one  or 
both  parents  are  missing.  It  can  hardly  be  gain- 
said that  the  absent  parental  factor  directly  or 
indirectly  affects  the  situation. 

Of  course  where  there  are  no  children  in  the 
home,  as  we  found  is  the  case  in  about  40  per 
cent  of  divorces,  the  evil  effects  arising  from 
separation,  if  any,  are  not  directed  toward 
offspring. 

The  discussion  of  the  effects  of  divorce  and 
separation  on  the  husband  and  wife  hinges  on 
settling  the  question  of  whether  or  not  they 
would  be  better  off  living  together  or  apart, 
conditions  in  the  divorce  being  as  they  are.  The 
following  propositions  may  be  briefly  made. 
First,  where  there  are  children  in  the  home,  and 
where  it  is  a  case  of  incompatibility  only,  it  is 
the  duty  of  parents  to  live  together  if  at  all 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       109 

possible,  until  the  children  are  duly  reared.  Since 
they  have  brought  children  into  the  world  and 
become  responsible  for  them,  they  should  sink 
personal  happiness  to  the  maximum  possible  ex- 
tent in  order  to  discharge  that  responsibility. 
Second,  where  personal  purity,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  presence  of  venereal  disease,  and  conjugal 
fidelity,  as  in  the  case  of  adultery,  are  the  issue, 
separation  would  appear  to  be  the  better  course ; 
although  in  the  latter  case  exceptions  should  be 
made,  dependent  on  parties  and  conditions.  So 
far  there  probably  would  be  a  large  measure  of 
agreement.  In  the  case  of  cruelty,  83  per  cent 
of  which  men  are  responsible  for,  where  it  is 
really  severe,  it  is  unreasonable  to  expect  human 
nature  will  bear  with  it.  The  presence  in  the 
home  of  a  really  cruel  parent  is  little  conducive 
even  to  the  nurture  of  offspring.  Fortunately, 
for  the  period  1887-1906,  47.3  per  cent  of  aU 
cases  of  divorce  on  the  ground  of  cruelty 
involved  no  children.  But  48.9  per  cent  of 
divorces  secured  by  wives  on  the  ground  of 
cruelty  did  involve  children,  which  may  indicate 
an  attempt  on  the  part  of  mothers  to  protect  the 
children,  as  it  is  7.8  per  cent  above  the  average 
for  this  cause  in  which  children  were  represented. 
The  case  of  drunkenness  is  similar.  Husbands 
were  offenders  in  90.6  per  cent  of  divorces  on 


110  The  Family  and  Society 

that  ground,  while  55.1  per  cent  of  divorces 
granted  to  wives  on  this  charge  involved  chil- 
dren. In  an  age  where  drunkenness  represents 
bestiality,  its  confirmed  practice  warrants  sep- 
aration and  divorce.  Moreover,  its  concomitants 
are  likely  to  be  most  undesirable  virtues.  Neg- 
lect to  provide  is  almost  solely  a  woman's  ground 
for  divorce,  but  6  divorces  in  a  total  of  316,149 
issued  to  men  between  1887  and  1906  being  given 
on  that  ground,  5  of  which  reported  children. 
As  compared  with  other  fundamental  grounds, 
it  is  unimportant,  representing  but  3.7  per  cent 
of  the  total  divorces  issued.  The  husband  is 
even  yet  the  almost  sole  support  of  the  wife  and 
children.  If  he  voluntarily  fails  in  this,  he  does 
not  justify  his  function  and  the  wife  is  justified 
in  obtaining  release,  especially  where  she  is  called 
upon  to  support  him  and  to  rear  the  family  at 
the  same  time.  In  49.1  per  cent  of  all  divorces 
granted  to  wives  on  the  ground  of  unsupport, 
children  are  involved. 

It  would  appear  that  desertion  could  but  issue 
in  divorce  on  any  just  sociological  basis.  Sep- 
aration ensues,  anyway,  and  it  is  often  better 
that  a  divorce  should  be  granted  and  that  the 
innocent  party  be  allowed  to  remarry.  This  may 
secure  a  measure  of  justice  for  the  husband  or 
wife  off^ended  against,  and  provide  a  home  for 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       111 

be  children.  About  one-third  of  all  divorces 
granted  to  wives  in  the  period  1887-1906  were 
on  the  ground  of  desertion,  and  but  7.9  per  cent 
of  these  were  contested;  while  nearly  one-half  of 
those  granted  to  husbands  was  for  desertion,  of 
which  11.4  per  cent  were  contested.  This  indi- 
cates that  the  ground  was  generally  warranted. 
Children  were  involved  in  but  23.4  per  cent  of 
cases  of  divorce  for  desertion  granted  to  hus- 
bands and  in  43.9  per  cent  of  such  divorces 
granted  to  wives. 

Remedies  proposed  for  the  "divorce  evil" 
must  rest  on  the  recognition  of  certain  things. 
First,  the  right  of  the  state  on  the  part  of  society 
to  exercise  final  control  of  marital  matters. 
This  means  that  a  return  to  the  religious  the- 
ory and  ecclesiastical  control  of  marriage  is  im- 
possible. Marriage  is  a  civil  contract,  whatever 
else  it  may  be,  and  society  cannot  afford  to  re- 
linquish its  interest  in  the  matter  and  hand  it 
over  to  any  partial  organization.  Second,  the 
inevitableness  of  divorce  in  an  age  of  transition 
in  general  and  of  human  emancipation  in  par- 
ticular. It  must  be  viewed  as  a  symptom  of  so- 
cial change,  a  freeing  of  both  men  and  women 
from  a  system  of  conventional  and  often  im- 
moral restraint.  When  individuals  are  seeking 
a  larger  liberty  in  every  field  of  action  and  life 


;/^ 


112  The  Family  and  Society 

it  is  inevitable  that  abuses  shall  arise.  To  check 
this  movement  is  quite  impossible  without  sti- 
fling modern  science  and  industry,  the  springs 
of  progress  and  civilization.  To  cure  divorce 
can  only  be  done  by  getting  back  to  the  condi- 
tions which  produce  it  along  with  many  other 
modern  evils. 

The  lines  of  rectification  would  appear  to  lie 
in  the  following  directions:  First,  minimize  and 
remove  the  present  abuses  in  divorce  by  securing 
better  divorce  laws.  Uniform  divorce  legisla- 
tion such  as  has  been  proposed  by  the  Congress 
on  Uniform  Laws  would  remove  certain  abuses 
but  would  not  remove  divorce.  It  would,  no 
doubt,  lessen  the  number  granted.  It  recog- 
nizes seven  grounds  for  the  annulment  of  mar- 
riage and  six  for  divorce,  the  latter  being  adul- 
tery, bigamy,  two  years'  imprisonment  for  crime, 
extreme  cruelty,  willful  desertion  for  two  years, 
and  habitual  drunkenness  for  two  years.  It  rec- 
ognizes absolute  divorce,  and  that  from  bed  and 
board.  A  decree  of  nisi  is  issued  in  the  case 
of  the  former,  to  become  absolute  at  the  expira- 
tion of  a  year  unless  appealed  or  otherwise  or- 
dered by  the  court.  Divorce  from  bed  and  board 
may  consist  in  a  decree  of  separation  forever,  or 
for  a  limited  time,  the  latter  revocable  after  ap- 
plication of  the  parties  interested  upon  reconcili- 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       113 

ation.  Bona  fide  residence  in  the  state  is  re- 
quired of  applicants,  and  notification  of  the  de- 
fendant is  sought  to  be  secured.  This  latter 
requirement  is  necessary  since  divorce  is  con- 
siderably reduced  where  defendants  receive  no- 
tice. To  the  provisions  of  this  law  should  be 
added  a  regulation  prohibiting  remarriage 
within  a  certain  time,  say  a  year  or  two. 
Further,  the  law  should  provide  for  parental 
responsibility  of  the  children  where  such  exist, 
the  court  of  domestic  relations  or  other  court 
to  determine  which  parent  is  to  be  responsible 
at  the  time  of  the  decree. 

Second,  the  establishment  of  special  courts 
of  domestic  relations  which  shall  have  sole  juris- 
diction over  applications  for  annulment  or  di- 
vorce. The  Chicago  and  New  York  courts  have 
demonstrated  the  efficacy  of  such  courts  to  pre- 
vent divorce,  frequently  by  securing  a  reconcili- 
ation between  husband  and  wife,  and  to  improve 
family  conditions.  These  courts  should  be 
copied  in  all  the  states. 

Third,  the  greatest  remedial  agency  consists 
in  reforming  marriage  rather  than  divorce. 
Hasty  and  ill-advised  marriages  are  the  most 
fruitful  cause  of  divorces.  The  foremost  stu- 
dents of  divorce  are  agreed  in  this.  They  are 
also  agreed  that  recourse  must  be  had  to  educa- 


114  The  Family  and  Society 

tion  of  our  young  people  into  the  functions 
of  marriage  and  the  duties  of  parents  in  order  to 
bring  due  rehef.  This  is  the  work  of  the  home, 
the  church,  and  especially  the  schools.  It  is 
a  part  of  the  great  task  of  social  hygiene  which 
society  must  take  up.  Matters  of  marriage  and 
family  should  be  taught  as  a  part  of  prepara- 
tion for  life.  Their  social  significance  and  their 
ethical  nature  must  be  inculcated.  A  choice  of 
life  mates  with  eyes  open  to  the  meaning  of  life 
and  the  possibilities  of  happiness,  and  service 
based  on  a  well  placed  affection,  will  increase  the 
security  of  married  life  and  reduce  divorce  ap- 
pellates. 

4,   The  Social  Evil 

The  social  evil  broadly  treated  represents  sex- 
ual immorality  and  sexual  disease  in  all  forms. 
Prostitution  is  peculiar  to  the  higher  stages  of 
social  evolution.  It  did  not  exist  in  savage  times 
but  was  introduced  in  the  course  of  barbarism. 
So  long  as  women  were  regarded  as  chattels 
there  was  no  call  for  professional  women.  In 
medieval  times  prostitution  was  regarded  as  a 
necessity,  a  form  of  moral  protection  of  society, 
and  the  state  and  city  engaged  procurers  to  keep 
up  the  supply  of  immoral  women.  This  belief 
still  lingers  in  certain  communities  and  nations, 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       115 


although  they  do  not  engage  in  procuring 
women  and  girls  for  the  trade. 

How  widespread  vice  is  it  is  difficult  to  state. 
Statistics  are  not  kept  by  any  communities  of 
more  than  the  registered  prostitutes,  and  in  such 
communities  these  represent  a  minimum  of  all 
fast  women.  The  Chicago  Vice  Commission 
made  a  conservative  estimate  that  there  are  five 
thousand  professional  prostitutes  in  that  city. 
But  various  estimates  place  the  number  at  from 
25,000  to  80,000.  Likewise  several  estimates 
of  prostitution  in  New  York  City  closely  agree 
that  there  are  about  40,000  women  profession- 
ally or  casually  engaged  in  it.  Estimates  for 
London  range  from  40,000  to  50,000;  for 
Berlin,  from  30,000  to  40,000 ;  and  for  Paris, 
30,000.  Smaller  cities  contribute  their  quota. 
Rough  estimates  which  assign  one  prostitute  to 
about  15  men  enable  us  to  form  a  conception  of 
how  the  evil  radiates.  But,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  the  extensive  prostitution  of  great 
cities  is  chiefly  due,  not  to  male  residents,  but 
to  visitors  and  transients. 

Prostitution  afl*ects  the  family  in  several  ways. 
It  lowers  the  moral  tone  of  the  community  in 
which  it  exists,  particularly  if  it  receives  public 
recognition  and  regulation.  It  is  the  fountain 
head  of  venereal  diseases  which  enter  the  family, 


116  The  Family  and  Society 

contaminate  wives,  produce  repugnance,  dissen- 
sion, and  separation,  render  women  barren,  pro- 
duce abortions,  and  impose  hereditary  diseases 
on  the  children  which  Hve.  It  is  an  especial  af- 
fliction to  the  section  of  the  city  in, which  it  is 
allowed  to  exist,  making  vice  a  common  fact  of 
life  and  inviting  the  youth  of  both  sexes  into 
its  practice. 

To  get  at  its  removal  it  is  necessary  to  know 
its  producing  conditions.  The  vice  commissions 
of  Chicago,  Minneapolis,  and  Portland,  and  the 
special  investigation  into  prostitution  made  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  agree  that  while  industrial  conditions  are 
prolific  secondary  or  ultimate  factors,  the  fact 
that  multitudes  of  women  receive  starvation 
wages  and  yet  lead  moral  lives  proves  that  other 
causes  operate.  The  special  government  inves- 
tigation finds  little  direct  connection  between 
occupation  and  prostitution,  but  traces  higher 
professional  prostitution  back  to  home  and 
neighborhood  conditions  of  vice  and  immorality. 
It  adds  the  factor  of  abnormality  and  weak  wills 
in  many  individuals  of  the  lower  professionals 
and  casual  prostitutes.  It  found  that  domestic 
service  callings  and  home  conditions  were  the 
most  fruitful  sources  of  the  life.  Special  vicious 
situations  in  childhood,  lack  of  discipline  and 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       117 

training  and  the  temptations  the  young  worker 
is  subject  to  either  in  or  in  connection  with  the 
occupation  are  the  greatest  sources  of  the  fall. 
Many  conditions  in  society  exist  which  are  con- 
tributing factors,  such  as  ignorance  of  sexual 
matters,  unregulated  dance  halls,  amusements 
and  drinking  places,  white  slavery  traffic,  de- 
bauchery of  little  girls,  vicious  lodging  houses, 
and  even  public  schools  in  some  instances.  Low 
wages  are  the  background,  which  failing  to  fur- 
nish women  with  comforts  and  luxuries,  drive 
those  who  are  ignorant,  weak,  and  undisciplined 
to  gain  them  by  occasional  or  habitual  vice. 

Venereal  disease  is  widespread,  but  because 
of  its  hidden  nature  it  evades  statistics.  Some 
perception  of  its  widespread  existence,  however, 
may  be  gained  from  certain  statements:  Nor- 
way, under  a  compulsory  system  of  reporting 
venereal  diseases  by  doctors,  which,  of  course,  se- 
cures cognizance  of  only  part  of  the  cases, 
shows  from  10  to  15  cases  per  1,000  population 
annually  for  Christiania  during  the  period  of 
years  1879-1898,  two-fifths  of  which  were  gonor- 
rhoea! and  over  three-tenths  syphilitic.  The 
rate  for  the  whole  of  Norway  ranged  from  3.55 
in  188^  to  2.14  per  1,000  population  in  1889. 
Nations  that  have  compulsory  military  service 
for  all  males  are  a  gauge  of  the  presence  of 


118  The  Family  and  Society 

the  "Black Plague."  In  the  period  1881-86,  the 
rates  per  1,000  men  in  the  following  nations  were 
as  follows :  Germany,  85.1 ;  France,  58.2  ;  Austria, 
73.6 ;  Italy,  102.9.  In  1891-96  they  were  as  fol- 
lows for  these  nations :  29.1 ;  56.7 ;  61.0 ;  84.9. 
Neisser  estimates  that  gonorrhoea  represents  75 
per  cent  or  more,  and  syphilis  from  5  to  18 
per  cent  of  all  male  diseases  in  the  United  States. 
Noeggreath  calculates  that  80  per  cent  of  mar- 
ried men  in  New  York  City  have  or  have  had 
gonorrhoea,  from  which  wives  are  probably  in- 
fected. Dr.  Morrow  states  that  70  per  cent  of 
all  his  women  patients  suffering  from  syphilitic 
infection  were  respectable  married  women  who 
had  been  diseased  by  their  husbands.  Further, 
it  is  estimated  that  from  1.5  to  8  per  cent  of  all 
venereal  infection  is  due  to  extra-genital  sources. 
The  deadly  effect  of  these  diseases  will  indi- 
cate their  vital  influence  on  the  family.  Dr. 
Morrow  believes  that  one-eighth  of  all  disease 
and  suffering  is  due  to  this  source.  Moreover, 
the  incidence  of  such  diseases  falls  on  the  young 
during  the  active  and  productive  period  oi 
life.  The  danger  to  innocent  members  of  society 
is  enormous.  "Eighty  per  cent  of  the  deaths 
from  inflammatory  diseases  peculiar  to  women, 
75  per  cent  of  all  special  surgical  operations 
performed  on  women,  and  over  60  per  cent  of 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       119 

all  the  work  done  by  specialists  in  diseases  of 
women  are  the  result  of  infection  of  innocent 
women.  Moreover,  50  per  cent  or  more  of 
these  infected  women  are  rendered  irremedially 
sterile,  and  many  are  condemned  to  life-long  in- 
validism." The  dangers  to  offspring  are  great 
and  disastrous.  All  grades  of  society  are  subject 
to  them.  Eighty  per  cent  of  the  ophthalmia 
which  produces  blindness  in  babies,  and  20  to 
35  per  cent  of  all  blindness  come  from  gono- 
coccus  infection.  Murderous  mortality  of  off- 
spring comes  from  syphilis.  European  data  in- 
dicate that  60-61  per  cent  of  cases  in  private 
practice  and  84-86  per  cent  in  hospitals,  espe- 
cially visited  by  prostitutes,  entail  death.  Four- 
nier  gives  a  table  of  families  in  which  216  births 
were  followed  by  183  deaths,  and  another  in 
which  157  births  were  succeeded  by  157  deaths 
of  offspring.  Further,  syphilis  is  hereditary 
and  passes  its  effects  to  the  third  generation  of 
those  that  live.  Gonorrhoea  is  not  hereditary 
but  wields  an  even  greater  depopulating  effect. 
Neisser  thinks  it  causes  45  per  cent  of  invol- 
untary sterility,  and  in  80  sterile  marriages 
Kehrer  found  that  45  were  caused  by  inflamma- 
tory and  other  changes  —  all  of  gonorrhoeal 
origin.  These  figures  are  for  absolute  sterility. 
But  its  greatest  effect  is  to  produce  one-child 


1^0  The  Family  and  Society 

sterility.  When  it  is  remembered  further  that 
insanity,  feeble-mindedness,  and  other  abnormal 
effects  are  entailed  by  venereal  infection,  its 
deadly  results  become  all  the  more  apparent. 

The  cure  for  the  social  evil  is  not  in  counte- 
nancing and  segregating  it.  Regulation  does 
not  regulate,  as  experience  in  European  and 
American  cities  proves.  Regulation  means  rec- 
ognition of  its  right  to  exist  on  the  part  of  the 
public  and  government.  Every  system  of  regis- 
tration, sequestration,  and  inspection  has  broken 
down.  Berlin  has  10,000  prostitutes  under  sur- 
veillance by  the  police  and  30,000  more  at  large. 
So  far  as  statutory  enactment  and  governmental 
action  relative  to  it  goes,  it  must  be  on  the  basis 
of  absolute  prohibition.  There  is  no  dissent 
from  this  on  the  part  of  vice  commissions. 
Many  of  their  members  began  their  work  be- 
lievers in  segregation  and  regulation.  Their 
investigations  uniformly  converted  them  to  the 
position  of  prohibition  as  the  only  right  and 
feasible  governmental  attitude.  It  is  also  note- 
worthy that  medical  men  are  more  and  more 
coming  to  this  position. 

Instruction  in  sexual  hygiene  is  coming  to  be 
viewed  as  imperative.  Boys  and  girls  must  be 
taught  the  nature  and  function  of  sex,  the  right 
care  of  themselves,  the  awful  perils  that  await 


Conditions  Affecting  the  Family       121 

the  patrons  of  vice.  This  should  be  the  work 
of  the  home,  but  in  default  of  parents  who  are 
prepared  to  give  the  proper  instruction,  the 
schools  must  respond  and  carry  on  the  work. 
This  should  be  done  in  a  sympathetic,  yet  sci- 
entific, manner.  Moreover,  an  appeal  must  be 
made  to  the  moral  nature  and  a  higher  and 
stronger  self-control  and  personal  discipline  se- 
cured. This  is  a  work,  not  for  the  prudish,  con- 
ventional moralist,  but  for  the  trained  expert 
who  loves  humanity  and  sympathizes  with  the 
temptations  and  trials  of  youth. 

Social  conditions  generally  stand  in  need  of 
regulation  so  that  special  temptations  and  pit- 
falls shall  be  removed,  and  the  grounds  of  ne- 
cessity to  practice  vice  to  secure  a  decent  living 
be  eliminated.  The  public  regulation  of  amuse- 
ment, recreation,  and  dance  halls,  and  the  pro- 
vision of  healthful  forms  of  recreation  and  sport 
are  essentials  of  a  constructive  program  of  re- 
form. A  minimum  wage  for  working  girls  and 
women  is  a  necessary  factor  in  this  work.  Fur- 
ther, the  elimination  of  vicious  conditions  in 
lodging  houses  where  working  girls  live  must 
be  secured. 


CHAPTER   V 

Biological  Phases  of  Sex  and  the  Family 

BIOLOGICAL  factors  intrude  themselves  into 
the  institution  of  the  family  in  a  most  pro- 
found manner.  The  primary  relation  of  husband 
and  wife  in  the  exercise  of  the  reproductive 
function  is  purely  a  physiological  one.  The  di- 
vision of  labor  which  obtains  normally  between 
man  and  woman  in  carrying  on  the  life  work  of 
the  domestic  institution  was  originally  deter- 
mined by  the  demands  which  arose  as  a  result  of 
the  differences  of  sex.  As  bearer  and  nurturer 
of  the  child  primitive  woman  was  compelled  to 
be  relatively  sedentary,  an  attendant,  and  func- 
tionary of  the  camp  because  of  the  child.  The 
man,  unfettered  by  infant  dependents,  v/as  free 
to  travel  far  from  camp  in  quest  of  game  and  in 
the  execution  of  his  militant  duties  of  protector. 
Likewise  in  modern  times,  because  of  relief  from 
childbearing  and  nurturing,  his  division  of 
labor  has  lain  principally  outside  the  home, 
while  that  of  the  woman  has  chiefly  followed 
the  lines  established  by  her  primitive  and  pre- 
historic prototype. 

The  view  that  the  male  is  the  central  and  the 
122 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  123 

more  essential  factor  in  human  affairs  is  as  old 
as  recorded  history.  Long  before  the  time  of 
scientific  biologic  conceptions  the  notion  was 
dominant  that  man  is  the  center  and  head  of  the 
social  order.  It  was  held  that  he  dominated 
in  life  matters  because  of  innate  superiority. 
When  the  science  of  biology  arose  it  was  nat- 
ural that  this  conception  should  have  been  in- 
corporated into  its  doctrines.  But  in  recent 
years  another  philosophy  of  the  relative  im- 
portance of  the  sexes  has  been  proposed  which 
reverses  the  order  biologically,  and  further  ex- 
plains man's  leading  role  in  society  as  due  to 
artificial  conditions ;  that  is,  to  those  which  have 
arisen  as  a  consequence  of  social  evolution.  This 
new  view  has  been  appropriated  by  members  of 
the  "feminist"  movement,  and  used  as  a  justi- 
fication of  universal  sex  equality.  Since  this 
theory,  in  large  measure,  involves  the  biological 
history  of  the  sexes,  it  is  important  that  it  be 
examined. 

Again  the  question  arises  as  to  whether  the 
family  is  purely  a  biological  matter,  whether  it 
has  arisen  solely  for  the  convenience  of  the 
mating  sexes,  or  whether  it  has  other  promoting 
causes.  The  earlier  chapters  of  this  volume, 
together  with  this  one,  furnish  data  for  arriving 
at  a  conclusion  relative  to  this  question. 


124  The  Family  and  Society 

Lastly,  the  family  institution  is  closely  re- 
lated to  the  issues  involved  in  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation, the  determination  of  sex,  and  the  im- 
provement of  the  physical  stock.  Each  of  these 
items  is  closely  linked  with  important  problems 
of  the  present  day. 

i.  The  Appearance  of  Sex 

A  discussion  of  the  origin  of  sex  is  difficult 
for  the  layman,  as  are  many  other  phases  of  the 
biological  history  of  sex.  Many  of  these  mat- 
ters are  still  unsettled  and  their  discussion  is 
technical  and  extensive.  Yet  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  sex  is  a  somewhat  late  innovation  in  the 
evolution  of  life  forms.  This  is  obvious  if 
we  make  a  distinction  in  the  mode  of  reproduc- 
tion, as  is  the  common  practice.  That  is,  the 
earlier  mode  of  reproduction  was  asexual;  the 
later  one,  sexual.  Thomson  says  that  the  feature 
common  to  the  ordinary  forms  of  asexual  multi- 
plication is  that  "reproduction  is  independent 
of  eggs  or  sperms,  or  any  process  comparable 
to  fertilization."  He  also  states  that  "  although 
we  can  no  longer  say  that  unicellular  organisms 
are  without  sexual  reproduction,  since  many  ex- 
hibit the  liberation  of  special  reproductive  units 
and  the  occurrence  of  amphimixis,  we  may  still 
say  that,   apart   from   transitional  forms    (like 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  1^5 

volvox,  which  form  colonies,  or  *  bodies'  of 
one  thousand  to  ten  thousand  cells),  there  is 
among  the  unicellulars  only  the  beginning  of 
the  important  distinction  between  somatic  or 
bodily  and  germinal  or  reproductive  material, 
which  distinguishes  multicellular  organisms.  This 
makes  a  notable  distinction."  {Heredity,  pp. 
34,  S6).  A  brief  exposition  of  the  methods  of 
reproduction  will  help  to  make  this  clear. 

The  protozoa  constitute  the  lowest  forms  of 
life,  the  world  of  single-cell  animals.  The 
method  of  multiplication  of  many  of  these  crea- 
tures is  that  of  segmentation.  This  process  of 
division  begins  in  what  appears  to  be  the  active 
agent  of  the  cell,  namely,  the  nucleus.  Gradu- 
ally two  nuclei  develop  from  the  original  nu- 
cleus and  new  organisms  are  formed  about  them 
which  finally  separate,  each  constituting  a  com- 
plete protozoan.  Prior  to  reproduction  after 
this  manner  a  conjugation  between  unrelated 
creatures  commonly  takes  place.  Just  what  is 
the  significance  of  this,  whether  a  mode  of  reju- 
venation of  the  stock  or  a  kind  of  fertilization, 
is  in  dispute.  It  seems  safe  to  say  that  although 
scores  of  generations  may  take  place  without 
such  conjugation  the  stock  will  ultimately  de- 
teriorate and  die  unless  either  such  crossing  is 
made  or  suitable  nutritive  conditions  are  main- 


126  The  Family  and  Society 

tained.  Thus,  conjugation  and  nourishment  ap- 
pear to  be  close  equivalents  in  the  lowest  forms 
of  Hfe. 

Some  of  the  single-cell  animals  multiply  by 
means  of  "  spores."  These  are  very  small  por- 
tions of  the  original  form  which  are  liberated 
and  which  develop  into  complete  organisms. 
New  creatures  have  also  been  grown  from  arti- 
ficial cuttings.  But  in  this  case  it  is  held  that 
the  fragment  must  have  a  representative  of  the 
various  partners  entering  into  the  "  organiza- 
tion "  of  the  original  being  in  order  to  develop. 

Ascending  in  the  scale  of  life  it  is  found  that 
in  certain  multicellular  organisms  multiplication 
is  sexless.  It  takes  place  asexually  by  separa- 
tion of  gemmules,  and  by  budding,  as  seen  in 
fresh  water  sponges,  polyps,  and  fresh  water 
hydra;  also  in  some  worms  and  tunicates,  the 
latter  really  being  vertebrates.  In  some  cases 
where  asexual  multiplication  does  not  really 
occur,  cut-ofF  portions  may,  under  suitable  con- 
ditions, grow  into  mature  individuals.  Such  is 
the  case  in  the  sponge,  starfish,  planarian  worm, 
etc.  Plants  produce  detachable  buds.  Mature 
individuals  may  be  secured  by  means  of  slips  and 
roots,  such  as  in  the  case  of  strawberries  and 
currants.  Potatoes  are  grown  from  cuttings. 
Such  instances  show  that  little  division  of  labor 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  12^ 

in  the  body  and  slight  differentiation  between 
body  and  germ  cells  exist. 

In  higher  multicellular  animals  germ  plasm, 
spermatozoa,  and  ova  are  introduced.  Real  sex 
appears,  the  male  possessing  the  sperm  and  the 
female  the  ovum.  A  junction  of  the  two  are 
necessary  for  reproduction.  The  ovum  is  sup- 
posed to  furnish  the  food-yolk  for  the  early  de- 
velopment of  the  embryo.  The  sperm  con- 
tributes the  centrosome  which  is  the  active  agent 
in  the  organization  of  the  fertilized  cell  for 
further  growth  by  subdivision.  Both  parents 
contribute  to  the  organization  which  ensues  by 
imparting  chromatic  material.  But  experiments 
of  DeLage  indicate  that  individuals  may  be 
produced  without  the  presence  of  the  nucleus 
and  chromosomes  of  the  -ovum.  On  the  other 
hand  Loeb's  experiments  on  the  same  kind  of 
organisms,  sea-urchins,  show  that  they  may  be 
developed  without  the  presence  of  the  sperm,  by 
supplying  a  50  per  cent  solution  of  magnesium 
chloride  and  sea  water.  These  experiments 
merely  confirm  "the  general  assumption  that 
spermatozoon  and  ovum  are  completely  equipped 
potential  organisms."  "When  we  consider  the 
ovum  and  spermatozoon  as  two  fully  equipped 
potential  individualities  which  unite  to  form  the 


128  The  Family  and  Society 

beginning  of  a  new  individuality,  we  see  more 
clearly  how,  on  the  one  hand,  there  is  a  double 
likelihood  of  the  essential  specific  characters  be- 
ing sustained,  and  how,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
is  every  likelihood  that  the  intermingling  will 
lead  indirect^,  if  not  directly,  to  something 
new."  (Thomson,  Heredity,  Chap.  II.)  The 
further  development  of  the  sexes  of  the  higher 
forms  of  life  from  this  stage  on  presents  no 
new  principle.  Because  of  this,  it  requires  no 
special  treatment. 

The  view  developed  by  Professor  Lester  F. 
Ward  departs  widely  from  the  concept  outlined 
above.  In  his  opinion  all  life  in  the  beginning 
and  for  some  time  after  was  exclusively  female. 
"  In  all  the  different  forms  of  asexual  reproduc- 
tion, from  fission  to  parthenogenesis,  the  female 
may  ...  be  said  to  exist  alone  and  perform  all 
the  functions  of  life  including  reproduction.  In 
a  word,  life  begins  as  female."  However,  he 
recognizes  that  initial  life  is  really  pre-sexual. 
How  the  male  was  evolved  he  summarizes  as  fol- 
lows: "The  manifest  advantage  of  crossing 
strains  and  infusing  into  life  elements  that  come 
from  outside  the  organism,  or  even  from  a  spe- 
cialized organ  of  the  same  organism,  was  seized 
upon  by  natural  selection,  and  a  process  was 
inaugurated    that    is    called    fertilization,    first 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  129 

through  an  organ  belonging  to  the  organism 
itself  (hermaphroditism),  and  then  by  the  de- 
tachment of  this  organ  and  its  erection  into  an 
independent  but  miniature  organism  wholly  un- 
like the  primary  one.  This  last  was  at  first 
parasitic  upon  the  primary  organism,  then  com- 
plemental  to  it  and  carried  about  in  a  sac  pro- 
vided for  the  purpose.  Its  simplest  form  was  a 
sac  filled  with  spermatozoa  in  a  liquid  or  gelatin- 
ous medium.  .  .  .  This  fertilizing  organ  .  .  .  was 
the  primitive  form  of  what  subsequently  devel- 
open  into  the  male  sex,  the  female  sex  being  the 
organism  proper,  which  remained  practically  un- 
changed. The  remaining  steps  in  the  entire  proc- 
ess consisted,  therefore,  in  the  subsequent  modi- 
fication and  creation,  as  it  were,  of  the  male  or- 
ganism." Because  the  female  constantly  selected 
the  form  which  best  fitted  her  needs  the  shapeless 
sac  "  gradually  assumes  a  definite  form  agreeing 
in  general  characteristics  with  that  of  the  orig- 
inal organism.  There  is  no  other  reason  why  the 
male  should  in  the  least  resemble  the  female." 
After  the  male  had  become  an  independent 
organism  capable  of  carrying  on  fertilization 
functions,  the  esthetic  tastes  of  the  female  and 
the  competition  among  the  males  for  the  favor 
of  the  females,  selected  the  most  highly  deco- 
rated and  strongest  males  for  reproductive  pur- 


130  The  Family  and  Society 

poses.  Thus,  by  the  time  the  human  stage  was 
reached,  males  became  equal  to,  and  oftentimes 
"superior"  to,  the  females. 

But,  before  male  dominance  set  in  there 
existed  a  state  of  society  or  relationship  be- 
tween the  sexes  which  Ward,  following  Bachofen, 
terms  gynecocracy,  or  female  rule.  The  evi- 
dence for  this  is  based  on  the  occurrence  of 
amazonism,  or  militant  feminism,  the  matri- 
archate,  or  metronymic,  family,  and  the  absence 
of  a  knowledge  of  the  part  the  father  played  in 
fertilization,  with  the  resulting  absence  of  con- 
trol of  the  offspring.  Consequently  it  was  a  con- 
dition of  female  selection,  a  situation  where  the 
males  had  to  sue  for  the  favors  of  the  females. 

Then  came  the  fall.  "As  it  was  brain  devel- 
opment which  alone  made  man  out  of  an  animal 
by  enabling  him  to  break  over  faunal  barriers 
and  overspread  the  globe,  so  it  was  brain  de- 
velopment that  finally  suggested  the  causal  nexus 
between  fertilization  and  reproduction,  and  led 
to  the  recognition  by  man  of  his  paternity  and 
joint  proprietorship  with  woman  in  the  off- 
spring of  their  loins.  This  produced  a  pro- 
found social  revolution,  overthrew  the  author- 
ity of  woman,  destroyed  her  power  of  selection, 
and  finally  reduced  her  to  the  condition  of  mere 
slave  of  the  stronger  sex,  although  that  strength 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  131 

had  been  conferred  by  her.  .  .  .  Throughout 
all  human  history  woman  has  been  discriminated 
against  and  held  down  by  custom,  law,  literature, 
and  public  opinion.  All  opportunity  has  been 
denied  her  to  make  any  trial  of  her  powers  in 
any  direction.  In  savagery  she  was  underfed, 
overworked,  unduly  exposed,  and  abused,  so  that 
in  so  far  as  these  influences  could  be  confined  to 
one  sex,  they  tend  to  stunt  her  physical  and 
mental  powers.  During  later  ages  her  social 
ostracism  has  been  so  universal  and  complete  that, 
whatever  powers  she  may  have  had,  it  was  im- 
possible for  her  to  make  any  use  of  them,  and 
they  have  naturally  atrophied  and  shriveled. 
Only  during  the  last  two  centuries  and  in  the 
most  advanced  nations,  under  the  growing  power 
of  the  sociogenetic  energies  of  society,  has  some 
slight  relief  from  her  long  thraldom  been  grudg- 
ingly and  reluctantly  vouchsafed.  What  a 
continued  and  increasing  tendency  in  this  direc- 
tion will  accomplish  it  is  difficult  to  presage,  but 
all  signs  are  at  present  hopeful."  {Pure  So- 
ciology, Chap.  14.) 

The  origin  of  sex  is  too  much  a  mooted  ques- 
tion to  express  a  dogmatic  opinion  about  it. 
However,  it  would  appear  that  Ward  takes  too 
little  cognizance  of  the  conjugation  which  op- 


132  The  Family  and  Society 

erates  among  low  forms  of  life.  Moreover, 
he  takes  much  of  his  evidence  from  animals, 
which  are  not  ancestral  forms  of  life  relative  to 
man.  His  position  that  originally  the  female 
was  equal  to,  or  superior  to,  the  male  as  an  or- 
ganism, is  evidently  true.  Also  the  most  of 
what  he  says  relative  to  the  place  of  woman  in 
social  evolution  is  true.  But  it  is  probable  that 
there  was  never  a  universal  stage  of  gynecoc- 
racy  or  matriarchy  such  as  he  proposes,  although 
among  some  peoples  there  was  something  akin 
to  it;  as  for  instance  the  strong  influence  in 
tribal  matters  exercised  by  the  women  among 
the  Iroquois. 

2.  The  Function  of  Sex 

Sex  undoubtedly  is  a  device  worked  out  by 
nature  in  a  stumbling  way  but  which  at  the  same 
time  secures  the  desirable  result  of  multiplying 
the  possibilities  of  improvement  of  the  stock  or 
race  through  variation.  The  lowest  forms  of  life 
multiply  themselves  by  self -division.  Life  runs  in 
a  cycle  of  a  very  narrow  and  identical  kind. 
Millions  of  years  may  have  elapsed  before 
variations  occurred  which  improved  the  stock 
and  resulted  in  race  progress.  Conjugation, 
which  takes  place  between  individual  organisms, 
seems  to  have  for  its  function  the  rejuvenation 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  133 

of  the  stock,  since  a  change  of  the  nutritive  ele- 
ment secures  the  same  result. 

When  sex  in  the  true  sense  is  introduced  the 
possibilities  of  race  evolution  are  enormously  in- 
creased. The  laws  of  heredity  still  obtain,  but 
the  hereditary  elements  which  come  together  in 
the  offspring  of  the  union  are  derived  from  dif- 
ferent and  dissimilar  stocks  of  individuals.  The 
possibility  of  this  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  each 
individual  has  two  parents,  four  grandparents, 
eight  great-grandparents,  and  sixteen  in  the 
fourth  set  of  parents  removed.  Under  the  oper- 
ation of  inheritance,  reversion  to  type  occurs 
and  the  stirps  from  any  one  of  the  parents  of 
the  fourth  generation  removed  from  the  off- 
spring, has  a  possibility,  according  to  Galton, 
of  one-sixteenth  of  total  possibilities  of  influ- 
encing the  nature  of  the  child.  Although 
the  exactitude  of  the  Galtonian  law  has  been 
questioned,  the  possibility  of  new  com.binations 
arising  from  uniting  stirps  from  so  many  diver- 
gent directions  is  simply  enormous.  A  good 
illustration  of  this  is  seen  in  the  ethnological 
field.  According  to  Deniker  a  race  is  a  pure 
stock  of  people  that  in  reproduction  breeds  pure. 
That  is,  stature,  form  of  head,  complexion,  form 
and  color  of  hair,  color  of  eyes,  and  other  bodily 
characters,  would  remain  similar  in  offspring  and 


134  The  Family  and  Society 

parent.  The  original  races  were  of  this  nature. 
But  interminghng  of  races  and  stocks  with  cross- 
ing of  parent  strains  have  so  varied  the  peoples 
of  the  earth  that  scarcely  a  pure  type  exists  to- 
day. Race  strains  and  stock  strains  of  most  di- 
verse characters  are  found  in  modem  individuals. 
Variations  in  respect  to  all  the  bodily  character- 
istics enumerated  above  take  place.  Other  things 
being  equal,  improvement  of  the  physical  stock 
occurs  by  this  procedure.  Holmes  has  artistic- 
ally represented  the  gradual  mingling  of  the 
races  during  ethnological  history  and  pictures 
the  complete  fusion  of  all  the  stocks  of  people 
and  the  disappearance  of  anything  like  distinct 
races  in  the  somewhat  distant  future. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  heredity  dom- 
inates in  the  process  of  variation.  The  influence 
of  parentage  is  bound  to  be  felt.  The  stirps 
that  come  down  from  the  past  to  unite  in  the 
new  creature  are  those  from  a  race,  a  stock, 
a  family.  The  new  creature  is  bound  to  be  much 
like  the  old.  Even  in  stock  breeding,  where 
artificial  selection  governs  the  matter  of  pairing, 
heredity  sets  bounds.  Bateson  says  that  the 
part  prophecy  plays  is  small.  "  Variation  leads ; 
the  breeder  follows.  The  breeder's  method  is 
to  notice  a  desirable  novelty,  and  to  work  up 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  135 

a  stock  of  it,  picking  up  other  novelties  in  his 
course  —  for  these  genetic  disturbances  often 
spread  —  and  we  may  rest  assured  the  method 
of  nature  is  not  very  different."  As  Thomson 
says,  from  whose  work  this  is  quoted,  "Let 
the  believer  in  the  efficacy  of  selection  operating 
on  continuous  fluctuations  try  to  breed  a  white 
or  black  rat  from  a  pure  strain  of  black-and- 
white  rats  by  choosing  for  breeding  the  whitest 
or  the  blackest ;  or  to  raise  a  dwarf  ( '  Cupid ' ) 
sweet  pea  from  a  tall  race  by  choosing  the 
shortest.  It  will  not  work.  Variation  leads  and 
selection  follows."     (Heredity,  p.  89.) 

Intelligent  selection,  however,  on  the  part  of 
would-be  parents  may  accomplish  much  both 
positively  and  negatively  for  the  improvement 
of  the  human  race.  As  a  positive  matter  the 
woman  or  man  desiring  to  mate  has  the  power 
to  choose  a  mate  who  has  the  characteristics  of 
a  good  race  stock.  If  mates  are  selected  who 
have  the  advantage  of  size,  strength,  freedom 
from  abnormalities  in  form  and  physiognomy, 
and  of  mental  ability,  the  assurance  is  warranted 
that  the  offspring  which  may  issue  from  the 
mating  will  be  adequate  for  the  undertakings  of 
life.  On  the  other  hand,  security  for  the  off- 
spring may  be  attained  negatively  by  avoiding 


136  The  Family  and  Society 

mating  with  persons  having  diseased,  abnormal, 
or  undesirable  characteristics.  Most  character- 
istics are  transmitted  directly  from  parents  to 
offspring,  and  an  examination  of  the  candidate 
for  marriage  will  usually  reveal  the  defect  and 
be  sufficient  to  prevent  undesirable  results. 
Others  msij  lie  back  in  the  parentage  and,  though 
not  affecting  the  present  individuals  who  mate, 
may  use  them  as  a  means  of  transmission.  De- 
fects of  many  bodily  structures  are  transmissible 
and  evidence  of  this  may  be  found  in  works  on 
eugenics  and  genetics.  It  is  fairly  certain  that 
feeble-mindedness,  epilepsy,  and  certain  phases 
of  insanity,  narcotism,  syphilis,  and  of  crimi- 
nality, are  inheritable.  The  reader  will  find  these 
amply  treated  in  the  class  of  works  just  men- 
tioned. Further,  the  effects  of  venereal  diseases 
are  not  confined  to  the  first  generation,  but  often 
visit  terrible  afflictions  upon  those  who  follow. 
Nothing  short  of  a  bill  of  health  based  upon 
physical  examination  is  sufficient  to  protect  the 
integrity  of  the  race  from  the  scourges  which 
now  afflict  humanity. 


V 


3.  Nature  of  Sex  Differences 

It  Is  obvious  that  the  sexes  are  different. 
Not  only  do  they  vary  in  matters  of  height, 
weight,  size  of  head,  form  and  proportion  of 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  137 

body,  functions  and  organs  of  reproduction,  and 
in  many  other  physical  particulars,  but  there 
appears  to  be  some  grounds  for  declaring  that 
they  are  dissimilar  in  physical  respects.  What- 
ever the  cause  and  permanency  of  many  of  the 
physical  characteristics  peculiar  to  each  sex,  it 
can  hardly  be  doubted  that  some  of  the  present 
psychic  differences  have  sprung  out  of  past  so- 
cial conditions.  Thus,  all  or  most  of  the  seeming 
mental  inferiority  of  women,  together  with  the 
so-called  character  of  indirection,  undoubtedly 
arose  out  of  the  fact  that  for  untold  centuries 
woman  occupied  the  position  of  a  dependent 
relative  to  man.  Any  failure  to  be  interested 
in  man's  world  and  affairs,  her  small  showing  in 
the  world  of  achievement,  her  dominant  interest 
in  domestic  and  social  matters  have  their  expla- 
nation in  her  almost  complete  severance  from  the 
world  of  affairs,  even  to  this  day.  Where  there 
is  no  responsibility  for  carrying  on  the  world's 
external  work,  it  is  useless  to  expect  a  high 
mental  ability  in  those  directions.  And  the  fact 
of  dependence  is  sufficient  to  account  for  woman's 
methods  of  indirection.  Not  being  able  to  de- 
cide issues  on  their  merit,  because  of  the  ar- 
bitrary course  of  the  master  to  whom  all  prop- 
erty and  civil  rights  belonged,  she  has  been 
;forced  to  accomplish  her  purposes  by  the  subtle 


188  The  Family  and  Society 

manipulation  of  her  over-lord.  Woman's  so- 
called  "peculiar"  characters,  instead  of  being  in- 
herent and  innate,  are  quite  a  matter  of  social 
heredity,  having  been  handed  down  through  the 
line  of  daughters  in  an  imitative  manner. 

On  the  other  hand  it  can  hardly  be  doubted 
that  there  is  a  fundamental  psychical  difference 
between  the  sexes  which  arises  from  their  di- 
vergent reproductive  natures.  That  woman 
should  always  and  everywhere  manifest  an  in- 
terest in  all  matters  that  concern  children  im- 
measurably greater  than  the  interest  shown  by 
man  should  be  expected  in  consideration  of  her 
reproductive  functions.  The  child's  long  period 
of  incubation  in  her  body,  its  suckling  from 
her  breasts,  its  absolute  dependence  on  her  for 
care  during  several  years,  have  created  a  special 
and  intense  psychical  constitution  relative  to 
child  affairs  that  can  only  be  fitly  denoted  by  the 
term  maternal. 

In  so  far  as  the  distinctions  between  the  sexes 
are  biological  in  origin  and  nature  the  question 
arises  as  to  whether  they  are  primary  or  second- 
ary. That  is,  whether  they  are  inherent  in  the 
very  constitution  of  sex  or  whether  they  have 
appeared  as  incidents  in  the  evolution  of  the 
sexes.  A  discussion  and  decision  of  this  ques- 
tion  does  not   involve   and  pronounce   on   the 


Biological  Phases  of  Sea:  139 

"  inferiority  "  of  woman.  She  might  be  inferior 
in  strength,  activity,  size,  and  other  respects, 
and  yet  be  equal  or  superior  to  her  male  con- 
sort. The  relation  of  the  sexes  and  their  posi- 
tion in  society  must  be  placed  on  a  functional 
and  an  adaptative  basis  and  the  merits  of  the 
two  must  be  viewed  in  that  light.  If  there  ap- 
pears to  be  a  biologic  and  sociologic  division  of 
labor,  and  the  woman  is  as  well  adapted  to 
carry  on  her  natural  functions  as  man  is  to 
exercise  his,  she  evidently  cannot  in  any  sense 
be  regarded  as  inferior.  To  pronounce  her  in- 
ferior, when  she  executes  the  functions  to  which 
she  is  adapted  would  be  as  illogical  as  to  assert 
that  the  linotype  machine  is  inferior  to  the  loco- 
motive. 

Whether  the  physical  characteristics  of  the 
sexes  are  constitutional  or  not  is  a  large  and 
complicated  question.  All  parties  are  agreed 
that  the  reproductive  organs  and  functions  are 
primordial.  The  other  characteristics  which, 
were  called  by  Charles  Darwin  secondary  sex- 
ual characteristics  are  matters  of  dispute.  On 
these  at  least  two  general  views  are  held. 

Darwin  believed  that  natural  selection  accounts 
for  the  evolution  of  the  various  forms  of  life 
in  the  vegetable  and  animal  world,  and  that 
sexual  selection   explains  the  secondary  differ- 


140  The  Family  and  Society 

ences  between  the  sexes  of  plants  and  animals, 
including  human  beings.  That  the  male  human 
being  is  larger,  taller,  stronger,  heavier,  he  be- 
lieved to  be  due  to  the  operation  of  the  selec- 
tive process  exercised  by  the  females  during  the 
ages  past  in  choosing  mates,  together  with  that 
of  the  law  of  battle  obtaining  among  males. 
Women,  by  exercising  a  preference  for  mates 
that  were  strongest,  most  active,  most  deco- 
rated with  hair,  have  placed  a  premium  on  that 
type  of  man  and  have  chosen  to  mate  and  breed 
with  such.  Consequently,  successive  generations 
of  males  have  responded  by  more  and  more  ap- 
proximating those  characters.  Hence,  men  have 
differentiated  from  women  in  those  particulars. 
Such  characteristics  are,  therefore,  not  original 
and  primordial,  but  somewhat  incidental  and  sec- 
ondary. They  may  also  and  consequently  be 
modified.  Such  is  not  the  case  with  the  pri- 
mary distinctions  of  sex.  This,  in  brief,  was 
Darwin's  theory,  the  one  that  most  commonly 
is  held. 

In  recent  years  a  new  theory  has  grown  up 
and  is  gaining  in  acceptance.  Wallace,  the  col- 
league of  Darwin  in  the  statement  and  proof  of 
evolution  by  natural  selection,  dissented  from 
Darwin's  position  that  sexual  selection  accounted 
for  the  divergences  between  man  and  woman. 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  141 

Instead  he  made  certain  criticisms  and  sug- 
gested that  the  dissimilarities  were  so  deep  that 
they  can  only  be  primary  in  nature. 

More  recently  Geddes  and  Thomson  have  de- 
veloped the  primordial  constitutional  theory  and 
given  it  support  by  a  vast  array  of  facts.  Other 
writers  have  contributed  in  the  same  direction. 
It  is  believed  that  the  so-called  secondary  sex- 
ual characters  have  been  merely  the  expression 
of  primordial  constitutional  differences.  Meta- 
bolism—  that  is  protoplasmic  changes  that  go 
on  constantly  in  all  organic  bodies  —  is  common 
to  man  and  woman.  But  this  metabolism  is 
of  two  kinds,  namely,  anabolic  or  constructive, 
and  katabolic  or  destructive.  Metabolism  of  the 
constructive  and  conserving  kind  characterizes 
the  female.  In  her  the  building  up  process  tends 
to  exceed  the  tearing  down  process.  The  male, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  more  dominantly  anabolic. 
He  tends  to  use  up  energy,  to  dissipate  it. 
Woman,  as  a  consequence,  is  more  conservative 
in  the  expenditure  of  her  forces,  is  steadier, 
more  patient,  more  enduring  in  the  things  she 
does.  Man  is  inclined  to  run  into  excesses  of 
expenditure,  particularly  In  his  earlier  period, 
takes  great  spurts  witl  intermittent  slumps,  is 
less  passive  than  woman  and  more  active.  Hence, 
Geddes  and  Thomson  say :     "  The  life-ratio  of 


142  The  Family  and  Society 

anabolic  to  katabolic  changes,  A:K,  in  the  fe- 
male is  normally  greater  than  the  corresponding 
life-ratio,  ark,  in  the  male.  This,  for  us,  is  the 
fundamental,  the  physiological,  the  constitu- 
tional difference  between  the  sexes;  and  it  be- 
comes expressed  from  the  very  outset  in  the 
contrast  between  their  essential  reproductive  ele- 
ments, and  may  be  traced  on  into  the  more  su- 
perficial secondary  sexual  characters." 

Should  readers  desire  to  have  the  evidence  for 
the  above  theories  they  will  find  Darwin's  facts 
in  his  Descent  of  Man,  Part  II,  which  deals  with 
sexual  selection;  Geddes  and  Thomson  in  their 
Evolution  of  Sex  present  much  evidence  of  the 
other  theory ;  and  Professor  Thomas,  in  his  Sex 
and  Society,  Chap.  I,  has  collected  from  all  di- 
rections and  summarized  facts  in  its  support. 
It  must  be  said  that  there  is  much  to  commend 
in  the  constitutional  theory.  It  falls  in  line  with 
what  we  ought  to  expect  in  consideration  of  the 
specialized  reproductive  function  of  females 
among  all  child-bearing  animals.  It  also  touches 
the  matter  of  nutrition,  as  all  the  evidence  in 
support  of  it  so  abundantly  shows.  Nutrition 
and  reproduction  are  closely  associated.  Re- 
production makes  enormous  demands  on  females. 
This  is  shown  by  the  difference  in  specific  grav- 
ity of  the  blood  of  man  and  woman.     In  woman 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  143 

this  change  in  specific  gravity  is  related  to  the 
reproductive  period.  It  is  less  than  that  in 
man  up  to  about  the  age  of  55,  equals  his  dur- 
ing the  next  ten  years,  and  is  greater  after  that. 
Her  energy,  which  is  represented  in  the  hema- 
globin  of  her  blood,  the  latter  deciding  the  spe- 
cific gravity  of  the  blood,  is  consumed  by  the 
drain  made  during  the  period  of  reproduction. 
This  process  calls  for  a  conservative  and  con- 
structive metabolism.  Hence  woman  and  other 
females  are  anabolic,  conserving  of  their  energy 
which  is  gained  through  nutrition,  perhaps 
more  responsive  to  nutritive  changes  than  males, 
because  their  physiological  division  of  labor  de- 
mands it. 

Jf,.  Sex  Determination 

In  recent  scientific  books  two  new  theories  of 
determining  the  sex  of  the  offspring  have  ap- 
peared. One  of  these  is  based  on  the  operation 
of  gravity  during  the  process  of  copulation, 
the  other  on  the  application  of  adrenalin.  These 
are  but  samples  of  theories  numbering  above 
five  hundred  which  have  been  proposed  for  the 
determination  of  sex.  Since  so  many  ways  have 
been  suggested  and  probably  not  more  than 
one  can  be  true  it  would  appear  that  the  subject 
is  one  of  much  doubt. 


144  The  Family  and  Society 

The  theory  that  sex  is  determined  by  the 
amount  and  quality  of  nutrition  is  one  of  the 
most  favored  theories.  Experiments  on  develop- 
ing tadpoles,  bees,  and  many  other  forms  of  life 
have  been  made.  Those  on  tadpoles  may  be 
used  illustratively.  I  quote  Geddes  and  Thom- 
son: "Adopting  the  view  stated  by  Yung,  v*^e 
shall  simply  state  the  striking  results  of  one 
series  of  observations.  When  the  tadpoles  were 
left  to  themselves,  the  percentage  of  females 
was  rather  in  the  majority.  In  three  lots  the 
proportion  of  females  to  the  males  was  as  fol- 
lows: 54:46;  61:39;  and  56:44.  The  aver- 
age number  of  females  was  thus  about  57  in  the 
hundred.  In  the  first  brood,  by  feeding  one 
set  with  beef,  Yung  raised  the  percentage  of 
females  from  54  to  78;  in  the  second,  with 
fish,  the  percentage  rose  from  61  to  81 ;  while 
in  the  third  set,  when  the  flesh  of  frogs  was 
supplied,  the  percentage  rose  from  56  to  92, 
That  is  to  say,  in  the  last  case  the  result  of 
altered  diet  was  that  there  were  92  females  to 
8  males.  From  the  experience  and  carefulness 
of  the  observer,  these  striking  results  are  en- 
titled to  great  weight."  * 

It  is  a  long  journey  in  the  evolutionary  series 

from  tadpoles  to  man,  yet  the  authorities  just 

*  Geddes  and  Thomson,  The  Evolution  of  Sex,  pp.  45-6. 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  146 

quoted  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  same  holds 
true  respecting  the  latter.  They  say :  "  Ploss 
may  be  mentioned  as  an  authority  who  has  em- 
phasized this  factor  in  homo.  Statistics  seem  to 
show  that  after  an  epidemic  or  a  war  the  male 
births  are  in  a  greater  majority  than  is  usually 
the  case.  Diising  also  points  out  that  females 
with  small  placenta  and  little  menstruation  bear 
more  males,  and  contends  that  the  number  of 
males  varies  with  the  harvest  and  prices.  In 
towns,  and  in  prosperous  families,  there  seem 
to  be  more  females,  while  males  are  more  nu- 
merous in  the  country  and  among  the  poor.'' 
But  Geddes  and  Thomson  recognize  that  other 
factors  than  nutrition  enter  into  sex-determina- 
tion, and  they  connect  the  latter  with  their  theory 
of  sex  difference  which  was  exposited  in  the 
immediately  preceding  section.  Such  factors  as 
heat,  light,  moisture,  enter  into  the  situation. 
We  will  hear  their  conclusions : 

"Such  conditions  as  deficient  or  abnormal 
food,  high  temperature,  deficient  light,  mois- 
ture, and  the  like,  are  such  as  tend  to  induce  a 
preponderance  of  waste  over  repair — a  rela- 
tively kataholic  habit  of  body  —  and  these  con- 
ditions tend  to  result  in  the  production  of  males. 
Similarly,  the  opposed  set  of  factors,  such  as  an 
abundant  and  rich  nutrition,  abundant  light  and 


146  The  Family  and  Society 

moisture,  favor  constructive  processes;  i.  e., 
make  for  a  relatively  anabolic  habit,  and  these 
conditions  tend  to  result  in  the  production  of 
females.  With  some  element  of  uncertainty,  we 
may  also  include  the  influence  of  the  age  and 
physiological  prime  of  either  sex,  and  of  the 
period  of  fertilization.  But  the  general  con- 
clusion is  tolerably  secure  —  that  in  the  deter- 
mination of  sex,  influences  inducing  a  relative 
predominance  of  katabolism  tend  to  result  in 
production  of  males,  as  those  favoring  a  relative 
predominance  of  anabolism  similarly  increase  the 
probability  of  females."  * 

This  theory  takes  us  into  the  controversy  over 
the  question  whether  or  not  the  germ  plasm  may 
be  influenced  by  external  conditions.  This  is 
close  to  the  problem  of  the  transmission  of  ac- 
quired characters,  but  it  is  not  identical  with  it. 
That  the  germ  plasm  should  be  influenced  by 
the  transfusion  of  the  nutrition  of  the  body  so 
that  the  reproductive  elements  are  determined  as 
to  their  sexual  structure  is  a  far  dift^erent  mat- 
ter from  passing  on  a  scar  or  skill  through 
their  agency.  Says  Thomson,  in  his  Heredity, 
"the  case  does  not  do  more  than  show  that  the 

*  Geddes  and  Thomson,  The  Evolution  of  Sex,  pp.  53, 
55, 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  147 

gonads  (germ  glands)  are  reachable  by  somatic 
influences,  which  no  biologist  has  ever  denied." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  one  of  the  two 
collaborators  and  expositors  of  the  above  the- 
ory has  moved  away  from  it  toward  the  other 
theory  of  sex  determination  which  we  shall  no- 
tice. His  statement  forms  a  real  connection  be- 
tween the  two.  Referring  to  the  earlier  position 
he  had  held  he  says :  "  In  some  cases  it  still  seems 
legitimate  to  believe  that  external  conditions 
may  have  a  role  in  sex  determination,  but  in 
many  cases  further  experiment  has  invalidated 
results  previously  accepted.  More  and  more  it 
seems  being  proved  that  the  sex  is  fixed  in  the 
fertilized  ovum  or  earlier,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
verify  any  hypothesis  as  to  the  conditions  of 
determination  at  this  early  stage."  Since  the 
proportion  of  male  and  female  births  through- 
out is  quite  constant,  the  mean  being  1,060  males 
to  1,000  females,  and  since  "about  30  per  cent 
of  ordinary  twins  are  of  different  sexes,  while 
identical  (monochorial)  twins  —  surrounded  by 
one  foetal  membrane  or  chorion,  and  almost  cer- 
tainly developed  from  one  ovum  —  are  always 
of  identical  sex,"  it  is  apparent  that  external 
conditions  have  little  to  do  in  sex-determination, 
and  that  this  takes  place  in  the  fertilized  ovum. 


148  The  Family  and  Society 

Sex-determination,  then,  may  depend  either  on 
"a  number  of  minute  and  variable  factors,"  or 
upon  heredity.  What  the  latter  means  is  that 
there  is  an  abiding  ratio  between  the  sexes,  which 
probably  is  somewhat  different  race  by  race ;  and 
that  sex  is  determined  in  the  fertilized  ovum  by 
means  of  some  sort  of  a  compromise  between  the 
parental  factors  which  enter  into  the  situation. 
(Heredity,  J.  Arthur  Thomson,  pp.  205  and 
500-504.)  We  now  pass  on  to  what  may  be 
called  the  chance  theory,  which  various  cytolo- 
gists  at  the  present  time  support.  Mr.  Charles  B. 
Davenport  has  embodied  it  in  his  work  on  eugen- 
ics, and  Professor  Walter  in  his  Genetics. 

On  the  subject  of  sex-determination,  Daven- 
port indicates  that  it  is  necessary  to  study  the 
offspring  of  human  marriage.  He  says :  "  Now 
marriage  can  be  and  is  looked  at  from  many 
points  of  view.  In  novels,  as  the  climax  of 
human  courtship ;  in  law,  largely  as  a  union  of 
two  lines  of  property  descent;  in  society,  as 
fixing  a  certain  status ;  but  in  eugenics,  which 
considers  its  biological  aspect,  marriage  is  an 
experiment  in  breeding;  and  the  children,  in 
their  varied  combinations  of  characters,  give  the 
result  of  the  experiment.  That  marriage  should 
be  only  an  experiment  in  breeding,  while  the 
breeding  of  many  animals  and  plants  has  been 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  149 

reduced  to  a  science,  is  a  ground  for  reproach. 
Surely  the  human  product  is  superior  to  that  of 
poultry ;  and  as  we  may  now  predict  with  preci- 
sion the  characters  of  the  offspring  of  a  partic- 
ular pair  of  pedigreed  poultry,  so  may  it  some 
time  be  with  man.  As  we  now  know  how  to  make 
almost  any  desired  combination  of  the  characters 
of  the  guinea-pigs,  chickens,  wheats,  and  cottons, 
so  may  we  hope  to  do  with  man."  (Heredity  in 
Relation  to  Eugenics,  p.  7.) 

The  transmission  of  sex  must  take  place  by 
means  of  the  mechanism  by  which  other  charac- 
teristics are  conveyed.  What  are  known  as  unit 
characters  lie  at  the  basis  of  this.  Traits  are 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation 
through  the  sperm  and  ovum.  These  combine 
in  the  fertilized  ovum  and  determine  that  the 
offspring  is  to  be  of  a  given  species  or  sex.  "  The 
resulting  characteristics  are  determined  by  chem- 
ical substances  in  the  fertilized  egg.  It  is  be- 
cause of  certain  chemical  and  physical  differences 
in  two  fertilized  eggs  that  one  develops  into  an 
ox  and  the  other  into  a  man.  The  differences 
may  be  called  determiners,'^    (Same,  p.  10.) 

Unit  characters  are  closely  connected  with 
transmitting  traits.  Illustrations  of  unit  char- 
acters would  be  brown  eyes,  blue  eyes,  straight 


160  The  Family  and  Society 

hair,  curly  hair,  epilepsy,  insanity,  and  so  on. 
Each  character  is  simple  and  is  transmitted  as 
a  unit.  Unit  characters  are  transmitted  by 
means  of  what  are  known  as  determiners.  These 
determiners  reside  in  the  germ  plasm  of  the 
reproductive  organs,  namely,  in  the  sperm  of  the 
male  and  the  ^gg  of  the  female.  Since  the  germ 
plasms  are  isolated  away  from  the  bodily  struc- 
ture at  large,  many  of  the  characters  of  the 
latter  do  not  influence  them.  Thus  mutilations 
made  on  the  body  and  skill  attained  by  it  are 
not  transmissible  because  they  do  not  act  on  the 
germ  plasms.  But  since  the  germ  cells,  in  com- 
mon with  bodily  cells,  are  nourished  by  the  blood, 
poor  conditions  of  the  blood  may  affect  them. 
They  may  be  pauperized  by  lack  of  nutrition, 
and  what  is  known  as  "race  poisons"  might 
ensue.  While  the  presence  of  characters  in  the 
body  does  not  always  prove  that  their  deter- 
miners are  present,  their  absence  generally  indi- 
cates that  the  determiners  are  not  present. 

Each  of  the  germ  cells  contains  a  nucleus 
which  is  the  organizing  part  of  the  cell  in  mat- 
ters of  growth.  The  nucleus,  in  turn,  contains 
chromosomes,  which  appear  to  be  its  real  active 
portion.  These  chromosomes,  or  certain  of  them, 
are  thought  to  bear  the  determiners.  Hence, 
unit  characters,  those   of  sex  included  among 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  151 

their  number,  are  handed  down  by  means  of  the 
chromosomes. 

But  whether  the  resulting  offspring  will  be 
male  or  female  appears  to  be  a  matter  of  chance. 
Each  kind  of  sex-cell  possesses  what  are  known 
as  X  chromosomes.  These  are  regarded  as  "  sex- 
chromosomes."  One  half  of  the  mature  male 
cells  have  these,  the  other  half  do  not.  On  the 
other  hand,  all  the  mature  female  sex-cells  bear 
such  "sex-chromosomes."  When  a  sperm  and 
an  ovum,  each  possessing  X  chromosomes,  unite 
in  fertilization,  the  fertilized  ^gg  will  develop 
into  a  female.  But  when  a  sperm  without  this 
X  chromosome  fertilizes  an  ^gg',  the  issue  is  a 
male.  Hence  it  may  be  said  that  the  presence 
of  two  determiners  produces  a  female  and  that 
of  but  one  a  male.  (Davenport,  Heredity  in  Re- 
lation  to  Eugenics,  Chap.  2;  Walter,  Genetics y 
Chap.  10.) 

This  theory  has  been  attested  by  various 
groups  of  facts  of  a  demonstrative  nature.  Its 
positivity  is,  of  course,  dependent  on  verification. 
The  theory  is  held  by  men  like  Loeb,  Davenport, 
Walter,  and  other  well-known  authorities.  Wal- 
ter in  his  Genetics,  presents  three  lines  of  data 
which  are  believed  to  prove  its  certainty.  It 
would  appear,  therefore,  that  this  theory  of  sex- 
determination  is  no  longer  a  mere  hypothesis. 


152  The  Family  and  Society 

A  comprehension  of  this  theory  demonstrates 
that  all  efforts  on  the  part  of  parents  to  regu- 
late the  sex  of  desired  offspring  must  prove 
abortive.  For,  according  to  our  present  knowl- 
edge, the  mechanism  of  determination  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  artifice.  There  appears  to  be  no 
means  of  so  influencing  the  X  chromosomes  that 
they  shall  combine  in  the  exact  proportion  which 
results  in  either  male  or  female  as  desired. 

5.    Summary 

The  importance  of  sex  and  sex-differences  in 
the  problems  of  the  family  and  society  warrants 
a  scientific  treatment  of  sex  in  order  that  its 
nature  and  influence  may  be  understood.  We 
have  discovered  the  following  facts  relative  to  it : 
First,  it  is  probable  that  sex-differences  and  sex 
itself  do  not  exist  in  the  lowest  forms  of  life,  but 
are  introduced  at  the  time  when  reproduction  of 
the  young  by  means  of  special  sex  organs  begins 
to  occur.  Previous  to  this  the  members  of  a  spe- 
cies were  alike.  Afterward,  they  were  distinguished 
as  male  and  female.  This  stage  of  development 
was  not  specifically  and  universally  reached  until 
higher  forms  of  animals  and  vegetation  appeared. 

Ward's  theory  that  males  are  the  result  of  the 
development  of  females,  having  been  differen- 
tiated from  their  appended  fertilizing  organs, 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  153 

is  ingenious  but  probably  erroneous.  His  expla- 
nation of  the  subordination  of  woman,  however, 
by  reason  of  the  superior  strength  of  man,  and 
'  because  of  woman's  limitations  due  to  child- 
bearing,  is  unquestionably  true. 

Second,  the  function  of  sex  is  largely  a  race 
and  evolutionary  matter.  Using  the  language 
of  teleology,  we  may  say  that  nature  originated 
sex  in  order  that  individuals  might  become  more 
variable.  This  has  been  a  distinct  advantage  for 
securing  a  more  rapid  evolution  of  life  forms, 
since  the  greater  variety  of  strains  there  are  to 
cross,  the  greater  the  variety  of  forms  there  are 
for  the  working  of  natural  selection.  It  may  also 
serve  advantageously  to  men  and  women  now 
who  intelligently  choose  life  mates.  By  under- 
standing the  nature  of  reproduction^  a  more 
valid,  or  at  least  a  less  debilitated  and  diseased 
type  of  offspring,  and  hence  human  stock,  may 
be  secured. 

Third,  we  find  that  the  sexes  are  different  in 
their  natures.  They  have  human  nature  in  com- 
mon, but  the  fact  of  their  physiological  differ- 
ences relative  to  reproduction  has  a  consequence 
for  them,  physically  and  psychically.  Each  sex 
has  been  differentiated  for  a  specific  reproductive 
purpose.     This,  in  turn,  has  affected  their  de- 


164  The  Family  and  Society 

sires  and  center  of  interest  in  life.  Since  the 
woman  is  more  intimately  associated  with  the 
offspring,  her  interests  in  life  and  her  division 
of  labor  more  immediately  center  in  them.  This 
does  not  mean  that  she  is  inferior  to  man,  because 
her  particular  function,  her  greatest  purpose  in 
life,  is  as  important  as  any  that  man  may  at- 
tempt. Man's  dominance  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world  and  over  woman  has  made  it  appear  that 
he  is  innately  superior.  But  it  is  probable  that 
woman's  exclusion  from  w^orld  affairs,  her  lack 
of  practice  in  and  development  relative  to  them, 
are  sufficient  explanations  of  her  backwardness. 

Fourth,  it  has  been  seen  that  there  have  been 
almost  innumerable  theories  as  to  how  the  sex  of 
offspring  is  determined.  We  found  I'eason  for  re- 
jecting Geddes'  and  Thomson's  theory  that  nutri- 
tion chiefly  accounts  for  sex,  because  more  recent 
investigations  point  to  another  solution  of  the 
problem.  It  is  inevitable  that  the  results  recently 
gained  by  cytologists  should  be  accepted,  since 
they  are  so  amply  substantiated  by  different 
kinds  of  evidence.  It  may  be  accepted  as  a  scien- 
tific fact  that  sex  is  determined  in  the  fertilized 
ovum  by  the  sex  determinants  carried  by  the 
combining  sperm  and  ovum.  This  means  that 
external  influences  and  all  sorts  of  artifice  are 
powerless  to  decide  the  results.     Briefly  stated, 


Biological  Phases  of  Sex  155 

the  X  chromosomes  decide  the  issue.  If  a  sperm 
which  contains  no  X  chromosome  fertilizes  an 
egg  —  X  chromosomes  being  constituents  of  all 
eggs  —  the  issue  will  be  male ;  but  if  it  contains 
such  chromosome,  the  issue  will  be  female.  So 
far  as  human  artifice  extends,  it  appears  to  be 
a  mere  chance  whether  the  one  or  the  other  kind 
of  combination  will  occur. 


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